Quakes & Northeast

The devastating earthquake that wreaked havoc in Myanmar and Thailand on Friday has once again sounded alarm bells in the Northeast. This region is situated in Zone V as per IS 1893 (2002) in the country and is considered to be one of the world’s most seismically active zones. While earthquakes of a very minor nature keep occurring across the region regularly, what is of concern is the kind of disaster mitigation preparedness that is required to be in place. India’s earthquake disaster preparedness involves a multi-pronged approach. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issues guidelines, and the National Centre for Seismology monitors earthquakes, in addition to community-level awareness campaigns, building codes and infrastructure improvements. Every state has its own respective State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), which is responsible for creating and implementing disaster management plans. Then there is the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), a specialised agency trained and equipped for search and rescue operations during earthquakes. Given the high seismicity of the Northeast, disaster awareness and mitigation activities should have been regular activities, with regular training programmes for members of the community. But, unfortunately, such activities are hardly to be seen in any state of the region. A visit to the websites of the SDMAs of the seven states, in fact, does not lead to anything very noteworthy as far as earthquake disaster preparedness is concerned. The Assam SDMA website, for instance, requires a complete overhaul, making it a proactive one so that citizens can find various kinds of valuable information about what to do and what not to do in the event of a major earthquake. Given the high seismicity of the region, training sessions for school and university students, hospital staff, police personnel, etc., should have been a regular activity.