Earthquakes do not kill, bad engineering does

BANGALORE:“Engineers are never taught about earthquakes or tsunamis.Their training in matters of natural disasters is weak,” Prof T G Sitharam, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore) observed.Speaking at the inauguration of a three-day workshop on ‘Capacity Building of Architects and Engineers in Earthquake Risk Reduction’ organised by Bangalore University, he said, “It is appropriate for engineers to know how to minimise risks during earthquakes.There is a wrong notion that earthquakes will not hit South India.” Prof Sitharam, referring to the 1993 quake in Latur that witnessed many deaths, said, “There is one lesson we must learn. earthquakes do not kill people. Bad engineering of buildings does.” Engineers from State and Union Governments, private sectors and other practicing engineers, apart from engineering teachers and students were parcipating in the workshop sponsored by Revenue Department (Disaster Management).Topics on geotechnical aspects of earthquake engineering, quake resistant design, philosophy of masonry, RCC and steel structures, reliability and risk assessment of structures will be discussed in the workshop that ends on October 14.Bangalore University Vice- Chancellor Dr N Prabhu Dev, who presided over the inaugural ceremony, said,“Sixty per cent of land in India is earthquake-prone.Almost 4,000 lives are lost due to natural disasters.This is reason enough for the government to give priority to quality engineering.Relief, reconstruction, rehabilitation and recovery should be top priorities,” he said, calling them the four pillars of earthquake management.Principal of University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering Dr K R Venugopal urged engineers to learn from Japanese building techniques.“Houses are designed to withstand earthquakes measuring 7 on the Richter scale. By spending a few lakhs, human lives and property can be saved,” he said.