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NICEE REMEMBERS THE 1997 JABALPUR EARTHQUAKE ON ITS 25th ANNIVERSARY In the early morning 25 years ago, the
residents of Jabalpur city and neighbourhood were jolted out of their bed by
a moderate earthquake of about M6 and maximum intensity of VIII. Though a lot
of media attention was focused on the near-complete devastation of Koshamghat village, widespread damage was reported
throughout the city. The most disturbing fact was the unsatisfactory response
of publicly-funded buildings and structures, such as those located on the
campuses of Jawahar Lal Nehru Agriculture
University, the Ordnance Factory, and others. Prior to the 2001 Gujarat
Earthquake, this event highlighted for the first time the seismic
vulnerability of modern urban centers as scant
attention was given to structural safety against earthquakes. Many private
and public buildings with several years of useful life left were damaged
beyond repair and had to be demolished. Most
significantly, this event put a spotlight on deficiencies of IS 1893 seismic
code provisions for elevated water tanks, which was further intensified after
many such failures in the 2001 Bhuj earthquake. A
large 5 lac gallon elevated RC water tank with cracked skirt staging was
taken out of service, causing hardships to residents during the summer months
and until the staging was retrofitted about a year later. Field survey reports provide the best test results of the seismic
performance of structures in real-life and serve as a valuable indicator of
the adequacy of We
have also prepared a slide show of photographs showing damages to various
buildings and structures. Some informational resources at NICEE about
earthquakes and earthquake-resistant construction are also listed. We hope this remembrance will instill a
sense of urgency to alleviate the high consequences of unmitigated seismic
risk. Hopefully, it will motivate structural design professionals and the
construction industry to take further measures to reduce the seismic
vulnerabilities of ever-growing civil infrastructure. Pls visit the following pages at NICEE’s website for
more information:
Durgesh C Rai |
