[UPSC Interview prep feed Vol.16] Nepal Earthquake

Topic: Nepal Earthquake.

Massive Earthquake in Nepal

• 7.9 magnitude on the Richter Scale.
• Scientific Explanation-This was caused by the movement of the Indian Place towards the Eurasian plate. This was also the reason behind the formation of the Himalayas. The fault line passes through entire Nepal which puts it at a high risk zone.
• Nearly 7000 people have died in Nepal and about 3 million locals have been displaced.
• Rescuers from 22 countries are involved as per the UN.
• The amount of aid received by Nepal is bigger than their GDP.
• And ergo some claim that it will take decades to rebuild the country.
• A report claimed that a resident of Nepal was 60 times more likely to get killed from an earthquake than his japanese counterpart and majorly because of the rampant mindless development of infrastructure that has been taking place since long.

How did India help Nepal?

• The power grid corporation of India helped in restoring the electricity grid and now is also assisting in rebuilding the distribution network.
• India has helped to evacuate 170 nationals from about 15 Countries.
• The Indian army is helping and treating the injured in makeshift tents. India has sent doctors, medical aid and other relief supplies in 13 military aircraft. 
• Indian Air Force choppers have been carrying relief material to remote and inaccessible areas of Nepal and ferrying back this injured for treatment.
• 13 NDRF teams of about 500 people were involved in rescue operations.
• Huge quantities of tinned food, potable water, various medicines and other amenities have been provided by India.

Was Indian help politically motivated ?

No ounce of doubt that this gesture was beyond the realms of International Politics. Considering the geographical proximity we have, the long land frontier that we have, age-old strategic relations we have nurtured, the rescue capacity that we have to offer, there was no other nation in a better state to respond to this distress call of a dear friend. Operation maitri is the symbol of our warm relations and not political opportunism.

The Media Controversy?

#GoHomeIndianMedia was recently trending on twitter with the people of Nepal accusing the Indian Media of insensitive reporting. Harassing grief-stricken people with redundant and rhetorical questions is only one aspect of it. It this sad phase where most would like to have some solitude, Indian media houses and others seemed to have used them as punching bags for their TRPs which was highly disgusting a behaviour.

There are certain ground rules that must be followed. Nobody has the right to capitalise on anybody's grief. Cameras must stay away from mass funerals and display respect at all times to the dead and those in mourning. An apology by the media houses collectively would have sufficed to calm sentiments down. They do the same thing in India as well where the victims and their families are bombarded with questions at a time when they seek solitude.

Is India/Delhi prepared for such a thing?

• The capital of the country lies in Seismic Zone 4 .
• NDMA head admits that it can only issue guidelines and is literally a "Toothless Tiger!.
• The NDMA and ASI have not collaborate on the front to save the Heritage Buildings and as such there are no plans and ways to save our architectural heritage as of now.
• NDMA passes the buck to State governments which are no way prepared.
• A CAG report in 2013 had slammed NDMA for not even completing a single project on the mitigation front.
• P.K.Mishra taskforce concluded in its report that NDMA is like a Think Tank without any link to the round realities. And that there is lack of functional integration between NDMA and MHA. It was recommended that objectivity and transparency should be there in the selection of members of NDMA.
• As far as the mock drills are concerned, they are usually confined to Major Cities and not taken up in small ones which are more vulnerable to such disasters.
• As per a report published in Hindu, over 4500 large dams lack emergency action plan.
• As per a report, 90% of Shimla would be destroyed like a stack of cards in the event of a 7.5 richter scale earthquake. And similar scenario for other cities in high seismic zone.
• The "national building code" might be good but the bottom line is that it is not MANDATORY.
• For Delhi, most of the settlements are based on Yamuna's flood plane and hence the fear of being near the fault line is looming large and thus even  a modest earthquake can bring the capital to its knees.

Bend it like Japan.

• They have stringent building by laws.
• Each high rise has marked exit routes and is fitted with escape equipments.
• Use of Earthquake dampers and other technologies in buildings.
• Mobiles phones are enabled to guide people in case of such events.
• Each locality has a safe evacuation place where people can be hurriedly directed.
• All owners and tenants are required to take Earthquake Insurance.
• Regular evacuation drills to sensitize people and especially the young ones.

Earthquakes for Dummies

• Remember, the magnitude of an earthquake is shown on the Richter scale which is indicative of the amount of power released in the technical sense. 
• Whereas the intensity of destruction is talked about on the Mercali Scale.
• The point where the energy is released is called as the FOCUS or the HYPOCENTER.
• Just above the hypocenter, the corresponding point on the surface is called as the EPICENTER.
• Major causes of Earthquake: Volcanic Eruptions, folding, Plate tectonics and other anthropogenic factors. 
• But the majority of earthquakes are caused by plate tectonics.
• The P Wave is the fastest and can move in solids and liquids. It has less impact.
• The S wave is slower than P and is only found in solid media.
• The L wave causes the maximum impact and destruction.
• Normally, it's not the shaking ground itself that claims lives during an earthquake. It's the associated destruction of man-made structures and the instigation of other natural disasters such as tsunamis, avalanches and landslides.
• Almost 80% of all the planet's earthquakes occur along the rim of the Pacific Ocean, called the "Ring of Fire"; a region that encircles the Pacific Ocean and is home to 452 volcanoes (over 75% of the world's active and dormant volcanoes).
• The largest recorded earthquake in the world was a magnitude 9.5 in Chile on May 22, 1960. When the Chilean earthquake occurred in 1960, seismographs recorded seismic waves that traveled around the world. These seismic waves shook the entire earth for many days.
• An aftershock is the quake of lesser magnitude that comes in the same region after some time when the Crust adjusts itself after the movements of the plates. If the magnitude is more than the first one, than this would be called as a foreshock.