COMPARISON OF INDIA WITH DEVELOPED COUNTRIES: A CASE STUDY FOR EARTHQUAKE ON CIVIL ENGINEERING STRUCTURES

Abstract

Whenever a hazard like earthquake strikes, it leads to the damage of infrastructure facilities, disruption of normal life and daily routine leading to direct and indirect damages. Lifelines and underground utilities also get damaged for two reasons: Above ground utility equipment, tanks, pipelines, and connections often are inadequately braced or inadequately secured to their foundation structures. Like buildings and other facilities, underground utilities tend to be designed only for vertical gravity loads. As a result, the equipment anchorage and pipeline bracing may not be strong enough to carry the large lateral forces associated with earthquakes. In order to reduce the impact of such events through mitigation efforts it is necessary to understand how such hazards become disaster.  The extent of vulnerability of area, people and property to hazard or the probability of its occurrence defines extent of risk. Vulnerability analysis and risk assessment are therefore essential forerunners for evolving the appropriate preventive measures and mitigation strategies. In developing countries like US, Europe, New Zealand and Japan the human life affected by hazard is less but for developing countries like India, casualties may be many fold. The earthquakes and its impact (direct and indirect) of US, New Zealand and urban India are studied as case for comparison. The research paper also focuses on the technology adopted in these developed countries for multi-storied buildings as well as for lifelines and utilities as preventive and curative measure for hazard of earthquake and suggests with some of the feasible measures that can be adopted to minimize the casualties in India.