Disasters
Natural disasters in India, many of them related to the climate of India, cause massive losses of Indian life and property. Droughts, flash floods, cyclones, avalanches, landslides brought on by torrential rains, and snowstorms pose the greatest threats. Floods are the most common natural disaster in India. The heavy southwest monsoon rains cause the Brahmaputra and other rivers to distend their banks, often flooding surrounding areas. Though they provide rice paddy farmers with a largely dependable source of natural irrigation and fertilisation, the floods can kill thousands and displace millions.
Earthquake in Andra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, West Bengal, Orissa
The original earthquake struck Indonesia at 2.08 pm, and first reports said it measured 8.9 on the Richter scale. It spurred warnings of a possible tsunami. The quake was later downgraded to 8.6 magnitude. A second round of tremors was felt in India in Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, WestBengal at 4.25 pm, but there was no tsunami threat from these aftershocks. India's Nicobar Islands, closest to the epicentre of the quake, is still on alert.
The quake was also felt in Singapore, Thailand and India. High-rise apartments and offices on Malaysia's west coast shook for a
Guidelines for Earthquake Resistant Buildings
A shaking of the earth caused by a sudden movement of rock bneath the Earth's surface. An earthquake occurs on a fault, which is a thin layer of crushed rock between two blocks of rock. A fault can range in length from a few centimeters to thousands of miles. Stresses in the earth's outer layer push the sides of the fault together. Stress builds up and the rocks slip suddenly, releasing energy in waves that travel through the rock to cause the shaking that we feel during an earthquake.
Earthquake Resistant Provisions in Masonry Buildings with Strip Foundation
United Nations Video on India Population Growth