India & Natural Disaster Management

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 08 May 2015 19:31

https://eos.org/articles/reducing-earth ... k-in-nepal

Eos: Do you know how retrofitted buildings, including the hospitals your organization reinforced, were affected by the earthquake?

BT: We’ve heard that the schools NSET retrofitted performed well, but we don’t yet know what ground motion they were subjected to or if nearby schools that were not retrofitted performed poorly. I read one report that up to 5000 schools nationwide collapsed, which would have been a real tragedy if the earthquake hadn’t been on a Saturday. We’ll have to investigate, but only after relief operations are over.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 09 May 2015 14:11

Well well from kantipur.com
KATHMANDU, MAY 05 - The four V-22 Osprey aircrafts of US Air Force that arrived in Nepal on Sunday to faciliate the distribution of relief have not been able to carry out the rescue and relief operations in an effective manner. The Osprey planes are widely used for marine war.

So far, only one Osprey has transported 300 kg of relief package to Charikot—the district headquarters of Dolakha. Another Osprey carrying equal amount of relief to Charikot had to return after it blew off the roof of a house. Since then, no other Osprey s have taken flights for relief distribution.

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 09 May 2015 20:02

http://www.oneindia.com/feature/nepales ... 42063.html
The Saviours: Nepalese villagers offer prayers in the name of IAF pilots

In this exclusive feature report, OneIndia gained access into the minds of a few Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots who are still undertaking relief operations in various parts of Nepal.

They had only one condition. "Do not put our names and ranks. We are the IAF here to help our brothers and sisters."

After minor communication glitches owing to hostile weather, the hotline between Kathmandu and Bengaluru was established. A senior Indian Air Force (IAF) official at the Head Quarters in New Delhi ensured that boys were on talking mode.

"It's all clear? Shall we start," I asked. "Roger. Go ahead," came the reply. And probably some first-time accounts of Operation Maitri began to unfold.

Hours after Nepal was ripped apart by the devastating quake, six IAF Mi17s and Mi17V5s were airborne. They had a night halt at Gorakhpur and next day they landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu.

The entire operational group had around 80 people consisting of pilots, tech team, ground liasoning staff and a Task Force Commander. This team had been stationed in Nepal for the last two weeks.

Villagers present ‘sacred scarf' as gift to pilots

The villagers, who have now become familiar with the pilots, easily identify them every time a helicopter lands with relief materials.

"For the villagers we are all Captains. The moment they spot us, the people start screaming Captain! Captain! They have presented us with their ‘sacred scarf' which is normally tied at the highest point in a village to know the wind pattern," says a pilot flying the Mi17V5.

According to him, the villagers believe that anyone who is a saviour to their nation is saviour to them as well.

"At Satyadevi village in Milanche district, a young village secretary was the first to honour us with the sacred scarf. When we landed there, he (secretary) travelled with us to show the village. We gave away our ration including biscuits and water," says the pilot.

The IAF crew said that the children in most villages were very curious to see the helicopter. "We were moved by their discipline. No messing around. They were all very organized and the village heads ensured that there was no chaos," says another pilot.

In Lukla village, the crew spotted a stranded tourist team. "Initially, we did not know that they were Indians. Later were told that they came from Maharashtra. They were closer to the Everest Base Camp. Lukla has one of the10 difficult airfields in the world. It was another challenge for us," recalls another pilot.

Villagers wait for pilots with garlands

They said in some areas the moment they landed, the villagers were ready with garlands.
"Some have become familiar with our names as we have done multiple sorties to their areas. We have been told by the locals that they are offering prayers every day in our names. Honestly, these are first-time experiences for us," an officer said.

They said operating choppers in the Himalayan ranges can be very dangerous. "The terrain is an unforgiving one. A lot of coordination is required while setting out on a mission here. The co-pilot has a tough task on hand in guiding and even the flight gunner (also known as the loader) plays a pivotal role," he says.

Most pilots parted with their ration as well

During the initial days of Operation Maitri, every pilot parted with their ration seeing the plight of the people.

"During the initial few days after the quake there was severe water scarcity. This was mainly due to pipeline bursts and other damages. So, we parted with our water as well. Things have improved now," says another officer.

When asked about the most striking moments of their rescue operations so far, the crew said that it was during shifting the dead bodies.

"In one instance in Langtang Valley we were carrying the bodies of six trekkers and they were all mixed nationals. Some could not be identified. We saw a severed half of one body as the other half was missing. In the IAF we are taught to be mentally tough. We felt sad but we had a job on hand. Another sortie to be undertaken," recalls a crew member.

Not affected by the anti-Indian rant

When asked whether the anti-Indian rant in Nepal has had any effect on their mission, the IAF crew said that their missions kept them focused.

"We came to know from our family members back home about these issues. We do not bother about what's appearing in the media. We have a job on hand and we are all so focused," says an officer.

Most of the members had slept only for four to five hours during the initial days of operation. The crew members also recall the services of the Army Aviation flying the Dhruvs in Pokhara.

Nepalese Army got home-cooked food for IAF pilots

When asked about the role played by the Nepalese Army, the IAF men were univocal in their responses.

"We never felt that we are in another country. We were all touched by the gesture of the Nepalese Army when they got us home-cooked food during the initial days. We all sat together and ate. They also assisted us with digital images so that we become familiar with the terrain," says a pilot.

Finally, when one of the members reminded this Correspondent about their next mission, hence signaling that the interview should be wound up, the last question was fired.

What will be the one key take-away of Operation Maitri? "Well, not one may be two. First, the experience of undertaking missions under extreme hostile conditions. And, second, the warmth of the people. Their love," a soft-spoken voice on the other side said.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 10 May 2015 06:37

Vikas Swarup @MEAIndia · May 8

On #OperationMaitri: a full spectrum view.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 10 May 2015 14:00

Israel, the leader in aid by personnel and everything accomplished this:

Nepal: Israeli Field Hospital Closes

The IDF field hospital in Nepal closed down today (Sunday). During its short existence, the hospital treated 1,600 patients, carried out 85 surgeries, and oversaw eight births.

85 surgeries and 8 births.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 10 May 2015 19:21

Sitanshu KarVerified account
‏@SpokespersonMoD

#NepalEarthquake Unloading of tarpaulins and rations at #Dhading from an #IAF MI-17 V5 heptr.

Sitanshu Kar @SpokespersonMoD · 3h 3 hours ago

#NepalEarthquake Weather has packed up in Kathmandu. (1600 Hrs)

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 11 May 2015 10:38

To help or not to help, that is the question: http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/i ... 7K20150511

nawabs · Post by **nawabs** » 12 May 2015 11:51

Earthquake tremors felt in delhi again. Epicentre to the east of kathmandu with a magnitude of 7.1 on richter scale.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 12 May 2015 13:16

^^ It is but a 7.4

On one hand it may be a late aftershock. On the other hand, things might not be done moving yet.

Oh, well, lets clog up KMT and start complaining about Indian aid again. Rise and shine people, those conspiracy theories arent going to spread themselves.

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 12 May 2015 13:23

There have been three major different earthquake epicenters in the last few hours all around India - Afghanistan - Nepal - Indonesia. The trmblors in Nepal have been the biggets. Lots of 5+ aftershocks after the initial 7.4.

I found this site for tracking siesmic activities through twitter:

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 12 May 2015 13:35

Plenty of information out there Deejay. Every seismic office and university department has a section on latest events and is angling for the oncoming flood of theses and research papers.

A lot of this is still in the scale of "there is no global warming" and "smoking causes no real health issues", and the good old "there is only one true god". All will come out in good time.

Two weeks is a bit late in the aftershock events. And the aftershocks of the aftershock themselves reached 6. There is going to be a bit of a dust up in that there northern part of India through the tibetan plateau it seems. Hope people hold on tight, to the open and clear ground, away from any buildings and wires and such.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 May 2015 13:44

a major hit on any n.indian city will be 100K kia and 300k wounded/homeless.

I guess stds and rules will be strictly enforced after such an event.

lekin ek lakh logo ko pehle marna hoga, because neither the consumer, nor the builder or the municipality people want to hear of even the simpler means of zone5 quake std construction (japan-- std).

thats who 'change' happens in india.

between nepal and the 9.0 potential of indonesia, the sikkim-bhutan-NE belt is ominously quiet...too quiet I feel....nothing on the scope in that link posted above. sheep being led to the slaughter.

deejay · Post by **deejay** » 12 May 2015 14:21

^^^ Yes, saw that. No shaking centered any where in India. Sikkim has been quite but both Darjeeling area and Sikkim would have really shaken today. Folks in North Bihar have called in and it seems there has been a lot of shaking today. Casualties expected in Bihar.

M Joshi · Post by **M Joshi** » 12 May 2015 15:03

deejay wrote:There have been three major different earthquake epicenters in the last few hours all around India - Afghanistan - Nepal - Indonesia. The trmblors in Nepal have been the biggets. Lots of 5+ aftershocks after the initial 7.4.

I found this site for tracking siesmic activities through twitter:

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/

Here you've a live earthquake map showing intensity & depth of the quake:
Earthquake.USGS

Lots of 5+ tremors in Nepal at the depth of 15 kms.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 12 May 2015 15:47

For the north-east India, especially Assam - Arunachal belt, it is a question of when not if anymore. The corner of the Indian plate simplistically speaking is locked in the NE pointing towards Chengdu area. The South eastern flanks moved in 2004 and since then the the whole western and northern parts all the way from hindukush and now nepal has re-adjusted except for the pivot point or triangle apex in the NE. Sikkim shook a bit in the last year, the eastern flank has to adjust too.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 May 2015 16:02

8.5 85 megatons 360 PJ Sumatra earthquake (Indonesia), 2007
8.6 120 megatons 500 PJ Sumatra earthquake (Indonesia), 2012
8.7 170 megatons 710 PJ Sumatra earthquake (Indonesia), 2005
9.2 950 megatons 4.0 EJ Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and tsunami (Indonesia), 2004

nowhere else on earth in recorded history has the same region got 4 mega-quakes within 8 years.

if I were a believer I would say a strange beast, godzilla..perhaps cthulhu is stirring from its ancient sleep below there.

be that as it may, it means that corner of the indian plate was massively unstable..and will perhaps lead to a chain of terrible events like this nepal quake.

the NE corner has perhaps escaped as the pivot fulcrum point which has least movement vs the two ends of the 'structure' .. if one looks at topography the sheer height of the himalayas near kathmandu and then to the west and east to Kanchendzonga....vs the much lower 15000ft type mountains in arunachal . myanmar (moderate hills) and yunnan point to pressures being lot higher vs the NE.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 May 2015 16:03

the two previous megaquakes in assam were 1897(8.1) and 1950 (8.6)..the big one is overdue. people have been worrying over it ever since my childhood. its now overdue by around 10 years.

hanumadu · Post by **hanumadu** » 12 May 2015 20:53

Can we build brick houses that are earth quake resistant or should they be made of wood only? Can the same principles used to make high rises earth quake resistant be used for small rises or individual houses? I am assuming it should be much easier to design earth quake resistant small buildings. Will they cost to much? The govt. must mandate earth quake resistant designs for all new constructions.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 12 May 2015 20:58

Singha,

Is there any preparation. Are kids taught what to do? Any reinforcing, relocations, surveys?
------------------

The internal consensus is that these sorts of quakes have been happening always but now they are ALL being tracked and documented. For instance prior to the Tohoku 2011 we are very certain there was another huge Tsunami in 1700 on the Japanese East coast. That one was by what has been estimated to be a 9.0-9.5 Earthquake off the Oregon coast in the Cascadia subduction zone. Yet there is no written record of this from the European and Native American residents of this area. Recently evidence was found for a Tsunami in the 1800's of the Chennai coast, similar to the 2004 Tsunami. Yet no written record exists, even though Cyclones as far back as 1408 are known and recorded.

Another thing that Tohoku 2011 taught us that we don't have a clue how a fault will behave in future. Every quake is its own animal. To give you some comparison Nepal 2015 is thought to have slipped 3 feet. Tohoku 2011 slipped an incredible 280 feet. And both are subduction faults!

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 May 2015 22:07

tsunamis seem to be directional. the tohoku thing might have sped off into deep water across the pacific (just few inches tall wave) before making landfall on japan and rearing up sharply as usual. so the local residents of oregon might have seen nothing much in the sea. its incredible a 9 quake releases nearly 1 trillion ton of TNT equivalent.

wrt to NE india atleast there is no prep, surveys and no stds enforced like reinforcing bars to tie together the 4 walls of a room (have them move together not fall apart separately), restricted sizes of windows and shorter walls than long free standing walls, banning the removal of walls on ground floors to create shops at street level...all this is spoken of in the literature as things needed to make buildings quake resistant.

in my school there was no literature or training. we were informally taught by parents and uncles to seek open space, avoid standing near electric lines and if caught inside building to tactically position ourself in the corners of the room where presumably the load bearing pillars would leave things intact if the walls collapsed in the middle.

the only training I got was during the periodic quakes as a kid. mostly would be at night after light rain for some reason. father would catch me and my sister in one hand each and drag us clean off the bed . mother would search for a shawl to put over her nighty and everyone would run into the courtyard. birds would be cawing loudly.

in the last 15 years 1000s of multi storey apartments have come up in guwahati for eg. upto 10 storeys. a 8 event might break the backs of a lot of them.

SanjayC · Post by **SanjayC** » 12 May 2015 22:09

Traditional Turkey houses made with bamboo and bricks are famous for resisting earthquakes even when concrete structures collapse around them. The frame is made of timber with masonary in-fill. Read this: http://www.iitk.ac.in/nicee/wcee/article/13_2297.pdf

Nepal needs to learn this technique.

raj-senthil · Post by **raj-senthil** » 12 May 2015 23:12

U.S. Marine helicopter missing in Nepal earthquake aid mission

WASHINGTON — A U.S. Marine helicopter participating in humanitarian assistance operations in Nepal lost contact with units on the ground, military officials said Tuesday.

U.S. Navy Capt. Chris Sims said the Huey was conducting disaster relief operations near Charikot, Nepal, the Associated Press reported.

The UH-1 Huey, which normally has a crew of four and can carry about six additional personnel, lost radio contact with the ground, said another defense official who asked not to be named since he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The aircraft is part of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469, according to the AP.

No further information was available.

A contingent of U.S. Marines is participating in a massive relief effort in the country, which was devastated by an earthquake less than three weeks ago that killed more than 8,000 people. Another earthquake hit the country Tuesday, and officials were just beginning to assess those damages.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 12 May 2015 23:18

Not to worry, it is just checking out the progress made in encroachments by the PLA in the sensitive border areas. Charikot is only 10 miles from Kodari as the bird flies.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 13 May 2015 05:03

Up, up. Bekauje earthquake, the sekwel.

Also, the Huey was the only halka udaaka from mrika. Now there must be a re-search for the searchers. Guess who would be kawkawing if it had peen a dhruv? Mandatory, and one phell over the ecuador bird's nusht inkluded.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 13 May 2015 05:13

It does take a certain chutzpah to declare no fuel on board and land in areas held by PRC within Nepal by the marines. Those military police from PRC should be sent in full force to check on the Amirkhans well being. As such they must be as bored with no evacuation or any media coverage in their covert mode of operations whereas the Indians are taking away the limelight. Even effigies of PM burnt just like they do of US prez in the Middle East. Indians must be doing good work only for that to happen.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 13 May 2015 05:30

^^ Not konfirmed. Just a rumor that the russian or indian built indian helikopters spied on this fyne mashine.

Setting down ij not eajy in them mountains.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 13 May 2015 08:23

^^^ set down, it did -- http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2015/05/12/miss ... -in-nepal/

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 May 2015 09:34

I would use occams razor and say its either a crash or a forced landing due to engine trouble.

chinese activities are always under IMINT satellite coverage and no doubt some local moles.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 13 May 2015 09:49

India not to rush rescue teams

New Delhi, May 13, 2015,

India has not rushed the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescue and relief teams to Nepal in the wake of Tuesday’s earthquake.

However, military helicopters and medical teams were deployed for aerial assessment of the damage and to provide emergency care.

The NDRF teams are on standby but will not move till it gets a “request” from Kathmandu. The forces would be ready for “immediate movement in case there is a request”. The Indian Army and Air Force too are not dispatching any fresh teams to the Himalayan nation, sources said.

The government decision not to rush Indian forces to Nepal without a formal request came in the wake of Kathmandu asking the foreign rescue teams to withdraw. With barely any chance of survival of the victims of April 25 quake, the Nepal government had last week told foreign rescuers to withdraw.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 May 2015 10:25

CNN

Nepali soldiers and police searched on foot through the night for the missing helicopter, said Prem Lal Lamichane, a senior official in Dolakha district.

Two U.S. helicopters from the same squadron as the missing aircraft set out Wednesday morning to conduct aerial searches, according to the U.S. military.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 May 2015 14:52

the marine corps ospreys are back in operation, mainly ferrying stuff from indian border to the north. suitable clear landing zones have been found for them.

meantime 3 RAF chinooks languish in delhi because Nepal govt says they are too big and might blow down roofshttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/12/n ... uthorities

a one liner in telegraph(uk) says the missing UH1 found but no details in what condition.

vinod · Post by **vinod** » 13 May 2015 14:59

Given the pattern of the earthquakes in the last decade or so, it looks like it is moving across the sub-continent plate(Bhuj -> Kashmir -> Nepal). So, India should be ready for more earthquakes in Bhutan, Sikkim, north east areas bordering china. Have quick reaction teams ready, people trained etc. There should be a lot of lessons learnt from the Nepal experience which we can set in motion. This earthquake WILL happen but exact location and time is difficult to predict. But we can be prepared.

X-posted from India-Nepal

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 13 May 2015 21:07

american pacific command has clarified the helicopter is still missing.

people are speculating it fell into a river

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 14 May 2015 07:26

More likely that it is under Chinese control

after landing safely.

Bigger worries for India to start planning and preparing for. This could be the one more devastating than an 8.0 across Assam. Imagine the casualty figures if even a 6.0 would go right within 5-10 km of Kolkata with its crushing population density.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-new ... 46628.aspx

For there lies a ‘faultline’, a fractured zone, just 4.5km below the city, which has been lying almost in active for years but could become hyperactive and trigger a massive quake measuring at least 6 on the Richter scale, seismologists claim.

“This could turn the 300-year-old city in torubble within minutes. It’s just a matter of time,” said Supriya Mondol, associate professor with Jadavpur University who deals with plate tectonics and quakes.

The fracture, known as the Eocene Hinge Zone, runs right through the middle of the city and then cuts across Rajarhat-Newtown and Ranaghat, in Nadia, before passing through Bangladesh and Myanmar and, further on, to Sumatra.

Experts say this faultline is lying almost inactive. Since it is not located on the edge of any tectonic plate, such as Nepal, the areas along this fault, including Kolkata, have not experienced any major earthquake in recent times. Minor earthquakes, which humans can hardly feel, however, do take place.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 14 May 2015 11:03

6.0 will not affect well constructed buildings. remember its a multiplicative scale and 6 is quite weak compared to 7.

also kolkata would not have as many buildings with weak stone walls glued by mud and lime as nepal.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 14 May 2015 15:22

The Prof is claiming the fault-line to be just a few km below not tens of km below and many tens of miles away. Even a 6.0 can shake you well. Cal has more homes due for a fall with even such a low intensity shake. The ground will turn liquid in the river delta that Cal sits on. The danger is real and people are underestimating the scale.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 14 May 2015 23:04

Bade Saar is right. The Richter scale is very misleading and should not be used to assess risk. What should be used is the projected ground acceleration.See the map below showing projected shake map for India showing peak ground accelerations. Anything over 1 m/sec or .1g is considered damaging to un-reinforced structures. As you can see the entire NE is at risk. BTW a shallow earthquake is more dangerous not just because of proximity. The real danger is shallow rocks are cooler and more brittle. Similarly cool rock will produce the same damage even at greater depth.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 15 May 2015 13:43

question is if the marine pilots were properly trained for high altitude heli flying which is very tricky as the crashes in equador and our own show.

---

The wreckage of a U.S. Marine helicopter that disappeared Tuesday with eight people onboard has been spotted in a mountainous area of east-central Nepal, according to the Nepalese Defense Ministry.

Defense Secretary Iswari Prasad Poudel told reporters that because of the condition of the wreckage, no one could have survived. He said three charred bodies had been recovered at the accident site and the search for the others is ongoing.

The U.S. military is sending a rescue team to the site to assess the situation and look for the others that were on the aircraft.

A U.S. Defense Department official said Tuesday that six U.S. Marines and two Nepalese civilians were onboard.

The aircraft, a UH-1Y Huey, was part of a task force supporting Operation Sahayogi Haat (Helping Hand).

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 16 May 2015 01:42

This one uses ESA's satellite data.
http://io9.com/a-map-of-how-far-the-ear ... 1704446580

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/v ... itter-iotd

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 16 May 2015 01:52

More maps from NASA

http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/hazardous-lands ... gion-nepal