Kashmir susceptible to major quakes

According to a study presented at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union at San Francisco on 7 December, Kashmir could be hit by a quake with a magnitude of up to 9 on the Richter scale, reports SciDevNet. Ghulam Mohammad Dar, faculty head at Kashmir’s Disaster Management Centre said that "disaster preparedness in Kashmir is not satisfactory and a lot needed to be done."

Dar said that in a number of villages and towns across Kashmir people were building new houses without adopting earthquake-resistant techniques. "I would suggest a building code to which people strictly adhere," he continued. "There should be preparedness at all levels. Disaster management plans should be made at ward and district levels and training imparted to police, civil defence and health officials."