India’s Himalayan Region is highly vulnerable to earthquakes and according to an estimate by the World Bank, in a year, about 1000 small and big earthquakes strike the country. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in an assessment found that almost 59 per cent of India is “vulnerable to moderate or severe seismic hazard”. Startlingly it also found that most buildings in sub-urban areas are “non-engineered and built without adhering to earthquake resistant construction principles… Traditional houses are being replaced with modern reinforced cement concrete (RCC) buildings, often without compliance…
Read MoreQuake in Himalayan region overdue, warns experts
