Urban Disasters in India Urban Disasters in India : : Vulnerabilities & Future Vulnerabilities & Future

ImplicationsImplications

T.N.GuptaT.N.GuptaFormer Executive DirectorFormer Executive Director

Building Materials & Technology Promotion CouncilBuilding Materials & Technology Promotion Council

World at Risk: Major Rapid-Onset Natural Disasters

Hazard Vulnerability in India

Indian Subcontinent: among the world’s most disaster prone areas

56% of land vulnerable to Earthquakes 8% of land vulnerable to Cyclones

5% of land vulnerable to Floods> 1 million houses damaged annually + human, social, other losses

Major Natural Disasters :

1990 - 2006

Earthquake, GujaratJanuary 26, 2001

EarthquakesUttarkashi 1991Latur (Killari) 1993Jabalpur 1997Chamoli 1999Kutchchh, Gujarat 2001J&K 2005

CyclonesEast & West Godavari 1992& dist.of Andhra Pradesh 1996Kutchchh, Gujarat 1998Orissa 1999

FloodsPunjab 1993Kerala 1994Punjab & Haryana 1996Mumbai 2005

TsunamiAndaman & Nicobar Islands & coastal areas 2004

TsunamiDec.26, 2004

Earthquake, J&KOct.8, 2005

1

Higher losses of life and property in a given hazard intensity in the urban areas are due to:

• Increasing urbanisation

• Expansion of habitat into unsuitable vulnerable areas

2

Higher losses of life and property in a given hazard intensity in the urban areas are due to:

• Higher population densities

3

Higher losses of life and property in a given hazard intensity in the urban areas are due to:

• Vulnerable construction – loss of traditional building skills

• Ignorance, apathy. Belief that it will not happen here.

• Complacency due to long time gap between two events

4

Higher losses of life and property in a given hazard intensity in the urban areas are due to:

• Non-engineered unsafe construction

5

Higher losses of life and property in a given hazard intensity in the urban areas are due to:

• Structurally unsound and unauthorized vertical extensions and additions to houses

LowVulnerability

HighVulnerability

Very LowVulnerability

LowVulnerability

LowLowHighHigh

HighHigh

LowLow

Exposure Exposure to Hazardto Hazard

Capacity to CopeCapacity to Cope

VulnerabilityVulnerability

VULNERABILITY

Humanitarian damages

Ecological damages

Material damages

Human and environmental dimensions of disastrous events

• Techno-Legal

• Techno-Financial

• Techno-Managerial

Regimes Recommended for Reducing Vulnerability

• Amending the Building Byelaws of Local Bodies to enforce Earthquake Resistant Designs & Construction of Buildings including the Extensions/Modifications in the existing buildings.

• Amending Master Plan & Development Area Rules & Regulations to take into account the Hazard Proneness in Land Use Zoning.

• Amending the Town & Country Planning Act to include consideration of Natural Disaster

Actions Required

Techno-Legal Regime

• All civil constructions funded by public funds should incorporate disaster resistant technologies and it should be mandatory as a part of the financial package.

• Financial institutions should make it mandatory for the client agencies to strictly adhere to codes and standards relating to safety requirements against natural hazards.

Techno-Financial Regime

• Institutional changes should be undertaken that would allow market forces to absorb catastrophic losses through the use of more optimally structured risk sharing arrangements. Insurance sector will have to be increasingly involved in risk reduction by evolving innovative mechanisms for risk reduction in their system.

• To facilitate access to finance for upgradation and retrofitting of existing stock of housing, buildings and infrastructure.

Techno-Financial Regime….Contd.

• Implementation of codes and standards and modified building bye-laws, regulations, development control rules should be strengthened.

• Capacity building through training, education and improved supervision of the officers and staff in the local bodies concerned for approving the plans and designs of buildings will be required to be undertaken.

Techno-Managerial Regime

Common Patterns of Damage Due to Natural Disasters

• Architectural Planning

• Structural Features

• Construction Technologies

• Building Materials

Based on

Essentiality of Professional Interaction to achieve a Safe Seismic Design

Important Considerations:

• Identify ways architects might improve the seismic resistance of buildings they design.

• Identify the kinds of relationships between architects and structural engineers that might promote improvements in seismic design.

• Consider how relationships among design professionals, clients, builders, developers and others can facilitate improvements in structural safety.

Essentiality of Professional Interaction …Contd.

Important Considerations:

• Consider roles of architects in the post-earthquake evaluation of structures.

• Identify educational needs with respect to seismic concerns and building performance in earthquakes.

Seismic Design Checklist to Facilitate Architect/Engineer Interaction

Goals

• Life Safety

• Damage Control

• Continued Post-Earthquake Function

Seismic Design Checklist to Facilitate Architect/Engineer Interaction…Contd.

Site Characteristics:

• Near Fault

• Ground Failure Possibility (Landslide, Liquefaction, Subsidence)

• Soft Soil (Long Periods, Amplification, Duration)

• Accessibility (Lifelines, Access/Egress)

• Adjacency (Up-Slope Or Down-Slope Conditions, Collapse-Hazard Building Nearby)

Seismic Design Checklist to Facilitate Architect/Engineer Interaction…Contd.

Building Configuration:

• Height

• Size Effect

• Architectural Concept

• Vertical Discontinuity

•Soft Story

•Setback

•Offset

• Resistance Elements

• Plan Discontinuity

•Re-Entrant Corner

•Eccentric Mass or Stiffness

• Adjacency-Pounding Possibility

Seismic Design Checklist to Facilitate Architect/Engineer Interaction…Contd.

Structural System• Structural Performance

•Ductility•Inelastic Demand•Constant or Degrading Stiffness•Damping•Energy Dissipation Capacity•Yield/Fracture Behaviour

• Special System (E.G., Base Iso)

• Mixed System• Repairability

• Dynamic Resonance• Diaphragm versatility• Torsion• Redundancy• Deformation Compatibility• Out-of-Plane Vibration• Unbalanced Resistance• Resistance Location• Drift/Interstory Effect• Strong Column/weak Beam

Condition

Seismic Design Checklist to Facilitate Architect/Engineer Interaction…Contd.

Non-Structural System• Stairs

•Rigid•Detached

• Elevators• MRP Equipment• Special Equipment• Computer/

Communications Equipment

• Special Building Contents

• Cladding, Glazing•Deformation Compatibility•Mounting System

• Random Infill• Ceiling Attachment• Partition Attachment

•Rigid•Floating

Vulnerability Atlas of India• Hazard Maps

• The Atlas aims to provide information base to support risk and emergency decision-making in disaster reduction.

• Atlas is intended for government institutions, administrative bodies, businesses, public organizations, educational institutions and individuals.

• It can also be used to develop hazard reducing measures and to plan preparedness and emergency activities.

• Risk Tables

Hazard Vulnerability of India

Earthquakes...Earthquakes...• 12% land is liable to severe

earthquakes( intensity MSK IX or more)

• 18% land is liable to MSK VIII (similar to Latur/Uttarkashi)

• 25% land is liable to MSK VII (similar to Jabalpur quake)

56% of land vulnerable to EarthquakesBiggest quakes in: Andamans, Kuchchh, Himachal, Kashmir,N.Bihar and the North East

Highlights of Vulnerability Atlas of India

Wind and Cyclones...Wind and Cyclones...• 1891-1990: 262 cyclones

(92 secere) in 50 km wide strip on East Coast

• Less severe cyclonic activity on West Coast (33 cyclones in the same period)

• In 19 severe cyclonic storms, death toll > 10,000 lives

8% of land vulnerable to CyclonesIn 21 cyclones in Bay of Bengal (India + Bangladesh) 1.25 million lives have been lost

Hazard Vulnerability of India

Highlights of Vulnerability Atlas of India

Floods...Floods...

• Floods in the Indo-Gangetic-Brahmaputra plains are an annual feature

• On an average, few hundred lives are lost

• Millions are rendered homeless

5% of land vulnerable to FloodsLakhs of hectares of crops are damaged every year

Highlights of Vulnerability Atlas of India

Hazard Vulnerability of India

One of the numerous RC frame multistory buildings at Ahmedabad that withstood the earthquake shaking with only minor cracks

Pancake collapse of 4-storey L-shaped RC framed school building in Ahmedabad

Insufficient connection between the RC elevator core and rest of the building lead to the underutilization of the lateral strength and stiffness of the elevator core

Surge floatation of chemical storage tank at rest along side train at Kandla station

Disaster Management

Mitigation Response

Assessment of Risk

Hazard Mapping

Vulnerability Assessment of Habitat Elements

Risk Mapping

Prevention

Structural Measures

Non-Structural Measures

Retrofitting

Early Warning

Evacuation

Rescue

Relief

Sheltering

Rehabilitation of Habitat

Economic rehabilitation

• Seismic Microzonation including preparation of Hazard Maps of the cities

• Study of the building typologies in different areas of the city including engineered as well as non-engineered buildings, building and population densities in different areas.

• Assessment of the vulnerability of the buildings and life line structures to the various intensities of the earthquake hazard as determined above.

Risk Reduction Measures in Urban Areas

• Assessment of risk of damage to various buildings and infrastructure and consequent losses of life and economy in various areas of the cities under the occurrence of an earthquake on an identified geo-tectonic feature.

• To frame appropriate policies and strategies for reduction of risk based on cost-benefit studies of the various strategies for maximum advantage.

Risk Reduction Measures in Urban Areas…Contd.

What needs to be done in relation to safety of housing and infrastructure?

• Vulnerability and Risk Assessment.

• To formulate Disaster Mitigation and Management Plans.

• To establish Legal framework for Techno-legal, Techno-financial, Techno-managerial Regimes.

LONG-TERM CONCERNS(in the next 3 year)

• Survey of Dominant House Types & Identification of Vulnerable Features

• Mitigation Interventions in Vulnerable Urban Areas

• Updating of Survey of India Maps for Vulnerable Areas

• Modification & Strengthening of Municipal Bye-Laws

• Computerised Vulnerability Database

MEDIUM-TERM CONCERNS(in the next year)• Building Reconstruction• Micro Zonation• Repair & Strengthening of Government and

Public Buildings• Training of Local Engineers & Contractors• Training and Certification Programme for Masons

& Carpenters• Demonstration Tests of Scale-Models of

Vulnerable & Strengthened Buildings• Development of a Disaster Management &

Mitigation Policy• Preparation of city level Maintenance Manuals

SHORT-TERM CONCERNS(in the next year)

• Detailed Damage Assessment Format & Protocol• Setting up of Retrofitting Clinics for technical guidance• Demonstration Repair & Strengthening of Typical Buildings• Confidence Building Measures• Special Schedule of specifications & Rates for Earthquake

Strengthening Measures• Provision of Treated Timber & Bamboo• Monitoring of costs of ongoing Repair & Strengthening Efforts• Benchmarking with other Earthquake Rehabilitation

Programmes• Community-centered Programme• Institutional Arrangements for State Support to Private & NGO

initiatives• Definition of Unit of Relief & Reconstruction Assistance

IMMEDIATE CONCERNS in response to a natural hazard• Evacuation• Emergency Shelter• Demolition• Reduction of Hazard from damaged

Buildings• Precautions during Emergency Repair

works• Protection against the Imminent

Monsoon• Relocation

Thank you