Primarily non-structural damage were reported, says AREIDA

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Assam Real Estate and Infrastructure Developers Association (AREIDA) had informed that the combination of shallow depth, short distance from the epicentre and high magnitude of Wednesday's quake has generated highly destructive seismic forces on the buildings in the State.

"The impact of the earthquake was definitely in the heavy and devastating category. We have extensively surveyed the earthquake damage and find that these are primarily non-structural damage like wall cracks and the load-bearing RCC frame has performed well in all the buildings inspected. Wall cracks and other non-structural damage have been found which only prove that the RCC frame has performed on expected lines with sufficient ductility to shake without failure," said AREIDA president P.K. Sharma in a statement here.

The AREIDA appealed to the people not to panic or spread panic.

"Those living in (seismic) zone V must be aware of the expected behaviour of buildings during earthquakes as the mandatory norms as laid down by the BIS Codes are a balance between safety and affordability," he said.

According to Sharma, the norms stipulate, "(a) minor earthquake: no damage; (b) moderate earthquake: no damage to structural members but cracking and damage to non-structural components allowed; (c) heavy and devastating earthquakes damage to even structural members allowed, but the building must be standing with no loss of human lives."

"One of the mandatory objectives of earthquake-resistant constructions is to achieve the required ductility in the building RCC frame. Ductility is the elasticity of the RCC structure of beams, columns slabs and foundation, giving it the ability to shake and sway without deformation when subjected to seismic forces. It is the most desirable quality for good earthquake performance as this enables the structure to absorb energy and save the building from collapse," he added.

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