SHILLONG: It was 120 years ago that the Assam earthquake of 1897 occurred on June 12, propelling a drastic geological change in the northeastern region and its adjacent areas.
In this connection, a workshop on ‘Recalling the Great Shillong Earthquake of June 12, 1897: Quest for a Reliable and Effective Mitigation and Post Disaster Strategies’ was held at North Eastern Council (NEC) office in the city on Monday.
Speaking to The Shillong Times on the sidelines of the workshop, P.L.N Raju, director of North Eastern Space Applications Center (NESAC), said unlike floods, it is difficult to predict if an earthquake of a similar magnitude will strike again.
He said the 1897 temblor was of the highest magnitude registering 8.8 on the Richter scale.
“The workshop was held to recall the incident and to take action for developing early warning systems… Earthquakes take place underground and there is still so much that we don’t know, so it is very difficult to predict,” he told the gathering at the workshop that was organised by NESAC and sponsored by the North Eastern Council, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.
“For floods we have a fairly developed early warning system so we can warn the public 12-36 hours in advance. Another early warning prediction is about thunderstorms, which are about to happen. In such cases we can predict and provide information,” said Raju and added that even forest fire alerts can be given using satellite data.
To know the actual damage after the disaster, NESAC can assess and provide information which will help governments ensure post-disaster mitigation measures.
However, Raju said NESAC is striving to establish equipment that will help it find out the precursor information.
Referring to certain antecedent movement in the earth as a precursor information, Raju said, “Before an earthquake, there is also the possibility of gas leakage coming from the ground so then if we put an instrument it will help to detect an impending earthquake.”
Indicating the relation of earthquake and space, he said, “There will be perturbation in the Ionosphere in which content of electrons increases. There is the use of an instrument which is like a GPS which will help to measure the electronic contents.”
He added that the precursors also helps in integrating the system and probably answer the difficult question of whether it is possible to come up with an early warning for earthquake.
Raju stated that 10-15 earthquakes happened in the last one week with the magnitude of 4-4.5 magnitude and these continuously happens.
“Smaller earthquakes happen and we don’t notice as there is no damage which occurs when the intensity is above 5-6 in the Richter scale,” he said.
Delivering the speech as chief guest, P.P Shrivastav, Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), said importance should be laid on earthquake-resilient buildings and not earthquake-resistant buildings.
“Earthquake early sign has to be present so as to mobilise the society and reduce casualty,” he said.
Srivastava stated that below the earth’s surface, tectonic plates are moving and earthquakes will continue to happen.
Speaking at the gathering, Ram Muivah, Secretary, NEC said that there is a need to establish equipment for early warning signs and training to be organised for state disaster management.
Recalling the earthquake of 1897, he said, “I saw black and white photos of the earthquake. Not a single building survived and this highlights the importance of preparedness.”
Stating that solution will have to be provided in terms of construction of highrises as land is not easily available, he said role of engineers comes to the fore to construct tall but earthquake-resistant buildings.
Referring to Japan, which also encounters several earthquakes, Muivah said, “Japan is also prone to earthquakes yet there are buildings which can go up to 40-60 storeys. If Japan can, why not North East?”
