CALL it a pressing need to meet the growing thirst of the Mumbai metropolitan area or plain negligence, but the Maharashtra government is building a dam in a quake-prone zone. Worse, work is going on without environmental clearance or the consent of people who stand to lose their homesteads, livelihoods …
The people of Chepdu village in Pindar valley treasure the fair held every June in memory of an army man from the region who was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra. This year, however, his widow Bimla Joshi has cancelled it. She cannot accept Rs 3 lakh that the Satluj Jal …
AN EARTHQUAKE measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale recently shook Japan, causing a massive tsunami. Changes in groundwater electrical conductivity and soil radon gas can help predict an earthquake in quake-prone regions, according to a team of geologists in India. Earlier studies by Japanese scientists have shown that prior to …
INDIA is constructing six nuclear power plants—two each at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, Kakrapar in Gujarat, and Rawatbhata in Rajasthan. Together, they will generate 4,800 MWe of power, states the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board’s website. This is a big leap towards enhancing the country’s nuclear stature. But is the country …
Japan's centuries-old experience in dealing with natural disasters proves inadequate to help it handle the man-made nuclear crisis. THE magnitude 9.0 earthquake of March 11, the 10-metre-high waves of tsunami that followed, and the aftershocks have left Japan devastated, with thousands dead and radiation from damaged nuclear power plants threatening …
“It is like we are bobbing along on the waves of the ocean, waiting to be saved,” reads one letter. In the last two weeks of September, thousands of Haitians displaced by earthquake have vented their concerns, depositing impassioned pleas for help in new suggestion boxes at camps in the …
THOUSANDS were killed and millions affected when a 7.2 earthquake struck Haiti early this year. It flattened much of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Seismologist Christopher Scholz has warned that a major earthquake does not mean the future risk is lower; it’s higher. Scholz, who works with Lamont- Doherty Earth Observatory in …
The present decade could be called as disaster management decade. There have been a number of large mega geo events such as Sumatran earthquake of magnitude 9.3 in December 2004, and destructive earthquakes in India (Bhuj earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on 26 January 2001), Pakistan (Kashmir earthquake of magnitude 7.9 …
Some of the Arabian Gulf states are busy developing several large, reclaimed islands and offshore townships. These structures are undoubtedly futuristic and the ideas are quite novel. However, there are serious issues of long-term sustainability of these townships. This article reviews and discusses natural hazards that have struck this region …
Despite being located in the seismically highly vulnerable region, Uttarakhand shows an elaborate tradition of constructing multistoried houses. Both the local dialects of the region (Kumaoni and Garhwali) have unique words for identifying four different floors of a building. This suggests common occurrence of multistoried structures in the region. Rajgarhi …
A major earthquake and two aftershocks hit China's north-western region of Xinjiang on Friday morning, the China Earthquake Administration said, but there were no initial reports of casualties or damage. China Earthquake Administration said the initial quake, of 7.3 magnitude, happened at 22:33 GMT on Thursday, or 6:33 am local …
China's northwestern region of Xinjiang was hit by a major earthquake and several strong aftershocks early Friday, the country's official media and earthquake monitoring centers reported. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damages in the sparsely populated, mountainous region inhabited by people of minority ethnic groups, mostly Uygurs. …
A 7.3-magnitude quake hit China this morning, about 140 miles southeast of the city of Hotan in the predominantly Muslim region of Xinjiang, in the southwest of China. The initial quake had been followed by two aftershocks with magnitudes 5.1 and 5.2 each.
The city's southern and central sectors, which include the most densely populated areas, are the most prone to damage by earthquakes. areas in the east face the least risk. These findings were highlighted in an illustrative report prepared by the Geological Survey of India. The report on first-level Seismic Microzonation …
Mild tremors continued to rattle Saurashtra and Kutch region on Monday, a day after a tremor measuring 4.5 on the Richter Scale shook many parts of the state. However, no damage to life or property was reported from any place. Mild after shocks were experienced in Kutch, Junagadh, Jamnagar and …
Parts of north Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch here on Sunday afternoon received mild tremors with people in Saurashtra rushing out of their homes. The epicentre of the tremors has been recorded near Rapar town in Kutch. The quake measured 4.3 on the Richter scale. The tremors were felt around 5 …
Mansehra, Balakot and its adjoining areas jolted with a mild earthquake at 7:32 am on Sunday. The earthquake was measured at 4.5 magnitude on the Richter scale. According to the Met office in Peshawar the quake's epicenter was located 240 km from Peshawar in the Hazara region. Residents rushed out …
WORLD Bank on Tuesday launched a new catastrophe loan facility and revised an existing contingency credit line designed to help increase its business with middle-income countries. The World Bank board on Tuesday approved the Catastrophe Risk Deferred Drawdown Option that will give middle-income countries access to emergency funds in the …
An earthquake measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale hit some parts of the district this noon. However, no loss of life or property was reported. This is the first earthquake since the past one year. "Several residents rushed out of their houses at around 1.13 pm, when the quake was …
