Disaster Consciousness

Earthquakes are a naturally occurring phenomenon and human habitations are always at a receiving end when it comes to such natural disasters. In the recent past Kashmir witnessed the worst shock when in 2005 a massive earthquake shook the ground. Just days back when an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale struck Tibet’s Shigatse region near Mount Everest, it stirred the memories of that 2005 earthquake. In this earthquake the loss of life and loss to property is quite huge.

As human societies we connect to the tragedies that hit any place anywhere in the world. Beyond that there are some practical lessons that need to be drawn. Kashmir, as we have always been hearing from experts, is vulnerable to seismic catastrophes. That is a geographic fact attached to us and we cannot escape that.

What we can do is to be mindful of where we are placed on this planet. Unfortunately, in terns of disaster risks, we have never responded as a conscious society. At the governmental level too, the concerned departments have not performed upto the mark to disallow practices that contribute to disasters in the long term.

The way we build our houses, the way our habitations are spread, the manner in which infrastructural development is happening, and the way we deal with our natural resources – all goes into the making of a huge disaster. We have already lost much to the vandalising practices we have continued to at individual, societal and governmental levels.

It's time to stop further contributing to it. If the civilian government in place right now can come up with a comprehensive plan marking what must not be allowed and what are the practices that need to be promoted, it can kickstart a process that is highly desired. God forbid, if a major natural disaster hits us we are far less prepared to tackle its impact than ever before. The earthquake in Tibet should serve as a reminder.

The government, and the civil society should collaboratively work on this. It is one to act after disaster, another before disaster. A small timely initiative can help avoid greater loss.