[Assam] eartquake in assam- a stark reality

Wed May 14 10:16:27 IST 2008

*rubbles

On Wed, May 14, 2008 at 9:39 AM, umesh sharma <jaipurschool at yahoo.com>
wrote:

> amazing  how vulnerable we are . Just 10 m jump in the crust and all goes
> topsy turvy.
>
> ***
>
> The great
> > Assam earthquake of 1897 (8.7 richter) is the largest known Indian>
> > intraplate earthquake. It raised the northern edge of the Shillong
>  Plateau>
> > by more than> 10 m, resulting in the destruction of structures over
>  much of
> > the Plateau> and> surrounding areas, and causing widespread
>  liquefaction and
>
> Umesh
> > flooding in the> Brahmaputra and Sylhet floodplains.> >
>
> Manoj Das <dasmk2k at gmail.com> wrote: Dear M-da
>
> This data was mined from the net. In any case its not very important, how
> many died then. Most important  is how many are going to die trapped
> underneath the rubbles, agonizingly waiting for rescues to come.
>
> Most of the stilted buildings are great recipes for disaster during
> earthquakes. I attended a seminar recently on earthquake damage
> mitigation.
> Providing shear walls in stilted high rises can mitigate the disaster to
> some extent.
>
> Builders take out their money and move onto the next project. Its for the
> residents to think and see whether the flats they are living  in are
> abodes
> or death traps. Ultimate price will be paid by them in case of any
> calamity,
> which I think is bound to happen; at 8.5 plus Richter, not many concrete
> structures are known to stand in one piece.
>
> You are right, after the 1897 quake, British devised the *ikra *cement
> plastered  wooden gridded structure; we still have such walls in my
> ancestral house at Bordoloni and they lasted for more than half a century.
> I
> think if must we go vertical, at least walls can be made of stuff which
> does
> not form bubbles during an earthquake. Buildings will be gone but life can
> be saved in case of a disaster.
>
> God save our people!
>
> -mkd
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, May 14, 2008 at 7:33 AM, mc mahant  wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > scale) and already 22000 are dead>
> >  Earthquakes do not kill. Concrete   falling on people do. The whole 3
> > storey school fell and buried 1100+alive.RIP
> >
> > In Jorhat Earthquake 1950 -me classX - We ran out- but I came back to
> drag
> > a sick boy out of thee Sick room. Next moment a brick partition wall(
> > constructed later) fell. He would have been hit and---. The British-
> built
> > Assam Type Hostel with Tin Roof still Survives.
> >
> > Shillong earthquake1897  must have  made Brits shy away from Concrete
> >  multistorey.
> > That was a good move.
> > But Steel and Cement and Bank and Govt. do not like it any more.
> >
> > I was trying hard to propagate low-mass optimum Section Precast slabs
> for
> > Construction of all Assam houses. 1980>1990+ I did build some 30
> housesbig
> > and small in Guwahati. 3 fell in Constructing.Rest exist. All at 20% PWD
> > cost.
> > Govt.,University, Public should have developed further from my general
> > designs and ensured Assam's Disaster-free Concrete housing.
> > But PWD hates my designs,Banks hate them ,the New Rich cannot stand them
> > at all. The New Rich whose Mothers are still polishing their village
> home
> >  floor with cowdung - mustnow have 1"Thick Makrana Marble in their
> Guwahati
> >  Nth Floor Cage-- over 5" thick cast-in situ  (1000s of Bamboos lost)
> >  concrete floor-- instead of mine 40mm.
> >
> >
> > The Builders( generally non-Matric)  boast "Earthquake Proof Designs
> > Checked by Computer"
> > Everybody is Happy for now.
> >
> > Ahmedabad,Latur--etc where 10,000 s died in Quakes  afew years back are
> in
> > India's "SAFE BELT".
> > '
> > GOI Brains Trust  lists Assam  (call NE)  in Zone V-most'
> Earthquakeprone
> >  and dangerous'--.
> > Nobody Died  in 1950 Quakes--as we never heard.
> >
> > So where did you get this Manoj?:<1500 people were killed> and the
> > drainage of the region was greatly affected. The resultant floods> were
> the
> > cause of most of the fatalities aftermath of this
> earthquake.>Floods--May
> > be.
> >
> >  Till end of 1950 we saw at Neamati Ghat Whole Massive Coniferous Dried
> > trees   floating down as far as eyes could see. And Dazed Massive Fish
> going
> > for a song.  Smell of Sulphur /H2S all over Jorhat that night-and   for
> many
> > more.
> >
> > Rethink Housing.
> > Rething Cities.
> > Rethink Lifestyles.
> > Live well -rurally-  with disseminated Jobs and Healthy Work from homes-
> > maybe through Internet.
> > You need clever LEADERS.
> > MM
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > do
> >                    Date: Tue, 13 May 2008 23:15:40 +0530> From:
> > dasmk2k at gmail.com> To: assam at assamnet.org> Subject: [Assam] eartquake in
> > assam- a stark reality> > Hi all> > The earthquake of Sichuan is only
> 7.8
> > richter and already 22000 are dead.> > Guwahati has partly become a
> concret
> > jungle and most of the construction> doesn't have the minimums to
> withstand
> > the kind of earthquake that recurs in> our region.> > > > 1897:> > The
> great
> > Assam earthquake of 1897 (8.7 richter) is the largest known Indian>
> > intraplate earthquake. It raised the northern edge of the Shillong
> Plateau>
> > by more than> 10 m, resulting in the destruction of structures over much
> of
> > the Plateau> and> surrounding areas, and causing widespread liquefaction
> and
> > flooding in the> Brahmaputra and Sylhet floodplains.> > 1950:> This
> > "Independence Day" earthquake was the 6th largest> earthquake of the
> 20th
> > century. Though it hit in a mountainous region> along India's
> international
> > border with China, 1500 people were killed> and the drainage of the
> region
> > was greatly affected. The resultant floods> were the cause of most of
> the
> > fatalities aftermath of this earthquake. The> initial shock was followed
> by
> > thousands of aftershocks, some of which> were big earthquakes enough to
> be
> > reckoned.> It had a magnitude of 8.7 and struck a relatively sparsely
> > populated> region along the Indo-China border. This earthquake is often
> > referred to> as the "Assam Earthqake of 1950".> The earthquake occurred
> at
> > 19:39 pm on August 15, 1950. It was felt> throughout north-eastern India
> and
> > in many parts of eastern India. It was> also felt throughout Bangladesh,
> > Bhutan and Myanmar. Damage> occurred in the entire region as far as
> Kolkata.
> > It was felt across a wide> area of the subcontinent, over an area
> totalling
> > 4.5 million square miles.> > -- > Manoj Kumar Das> C 172 GF, Sarvodaya
> > Enclave> New Delhi 17 India> 0091 9312650558 (HP) 9910972654> > > > -- >
> > Manoj Kumar Das> C 172 GF, Sarvodaya Enclave> New Delhi 17 India> 0091
> > 9312650558 (HP) 9910972654>
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>
>
>
> --
> Manoj Kumar Das
> C 172 GF, Sarvodaya Enclave
> New Delhi 17 India
> 0091 9312650558 (HP) 9910972654
> _______________________________________________
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-- 
Manoj Kumar Das
C 172 GF, Sarvodaya Enclave
New Delhi 17 India
0091 9312650558 (HP) 9910972654