After a meeting on the recent Seismic Activity in Delhi-NCR region, Director for National centre for Seismology (NCS), Dr. B K Bansal has affirmed that there is no need to panic. However, States must be fully prepared and accordingly evaluate measures for reduced risks of the earthquake.
The Voice Conferencing meeting consisted of NDMA Members, Director General, National Disaster Response Force and senior officers of Government of NCT of Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
States to undertake Precautionary Measures
In the meeting, Dr. Bansal spoke about the various measures the States need to undertake, to reduce the risks of the earthquake in Delhi-NCR region.
The Director further claimed that the occurrence of the earthquake is not unusual. It was not surprising since the region has a history of similar seismic reactions. In fact, no advanced technology in the world has predicted the perfect timing, location or magnitude of an earthquake before.
The NDMA, in furtherance, ordered the States to take certain precautions and measures. Firstly, it urged the state to build bye laws for earthquake resilient constructions and avoid extra vulnerable building stock. Secondly, the States must prioritize scheming the necessity structures like lifeline buildings and retrofit them. States must ensure the retrofitting of private buildings accordingly to reduce the risk-phased manner. Thirdly, States must conduct timely mock exercises to tackle with earthquakes in future. Moreover, authorities must set up SoPs for faster responses after an earthquake. Lastly, the NDMA asked the States to conduct public awareness programmes explaining the doโs and donโts at the time of an earthquake.
