Socialism
won't stop earthquakes but it can minimise the damage from them.
Shoddy
building construction, old housing and lax oversight leave Pakistan
especially vulnerable to deadly earthquakes, experts in disasters and
architecture say, and likely exacerbated damage from a tremor that
killed at least 37 people. The 5.8 magnitude earthquake levelled
houses, shops and other buildings, and injured around 500 people on
Tuesday near Mirpur, in Pakistan's part of Kashmir.
Most
of the deaths and injuries were caused by old village houses
collapsing, said Sardar Gulfaraz Khan, the deputy inspector general
of police for Mirpur district.
There
are lots of old homes and apparently the damage was done to those.
The few new homes in the district, built with stronger structures,
all survived. Homes
built with bricks or concrete blocks are particularly vulnerable,
because each building unit shifts independently in an earthquake,
said retired architecture professor Yasmin Cheema.
Even
among new houses, a dangerous construction model of unreinforced
masonry with no involvement from a structural engineer is widespread
in Pakistan's towns and cities, according to Muhammad Masood Rafi,
the head of NED University's earthquake engineering department. He is
organising a team of engineering students and experts to travel to
Mirpur and investigate the situation.
"These
are very vulnerable buildings and they face the chance of damage and
destruction when they are subjected to unusual forces," he said.
In a country where a quarter of the population lives below the
poverty line, Rafi said the poor bore almost the entire brunt of
badly constructed buildings. "Mostly, only the poor are affected
by the disasters, not the rich," he said.
A
2005 earthquake that devastated much of Kashmir and killed more than
80,000 people prompted an update to Pakistan's building code to make
rebuilt houses safer. But 14 years on,
some say complacency has set in.
"Disasters
happen and the people have to just look after themselves because the
institutions are not strong enough," said architect Arif Hasan,
referring to local authorities who enforce standards. "We don't
have the teeth or the finances to do it."
Rapid
urbanization in Pakistan has meant housing has been quickly built to
keep up with demand, said Michael Kugelman, senior associate for
South Asia at the Wilson Center think-tank.
"It
all becomes quite unregulated, inefficient, and ultimately
dangerous," he said.
Chaudhry
Tariq Farooq, Pakistani Kashmir's minister for physical planning and
housing, said there have indeed been lapses in enforcement of
building codes.
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