Fatal Rumble

Taiwan is working fast to save people trapped after a strong earthquake of 7.4 Magnitude hit it. At least 12 people died and over 1000 are injured and scores are missing.

A 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck parts of the American Northeast from Philadelphia to New York City on Friday morning, shaking buildings up and down, including the famous Statue of Liberty. Reportedly, it was the third-largest earthquake recorded in the area in the last five decades.

This sets an alarm for Kashmir as it is placed in a highly seismic zone and is a tectonically active belt. Between January and June of last year, Jammu and Kashmir had 32 earthquakes, with strengths from 3.2 to 5.4 on the Richter scale. These quakes show how prone the area is to earthquakes. Most people don’t notice them, but they’re a warning that a huge earthquake could happen anytime.

Jammu and Kashmir is mostly in seismic Zone V, meaning it’s very prone to earthquakes. Over the last two years, about 100 earthquakes hit Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. A study in 2015 looked at earthquake history and found different parts of Jammu and Kashmir region exhibit a spectrum of seismic activity, ranging from moderate to extremely high levels. Over the years, the area has had big and damaging earthquakes. One of the worst was in 2005 in Kashmir. It killed at least 1,350 people and injured 6,266 others.

In 2011, Roger Bilham, a seismologist, predicted that there could be a massive earthquake in the area. He said, “The Kashmir Valley, including Srinagar with its 1.5 million people, could be hit by a magnitude-9 quake. That could kill 3,00,000 people.”

In another 2018 study, experts looked at how likely earthquakes were in Kashmir, and they found that the way most of the buildings are built here, it doesn’t protect them from earthquakes. This is a matter of concern about how safe buildings would be in Kashmir if there was a huge earthquake.

Sameer Hakim Hamdani, a conservation architect and writer of The Syncretic Traditions of Islamic Religious Architecture of Kashmir, thinks that using old building techniques and materials can make structures stronger during earthquakes. These methods have been used for a long time and have shown that they can withstand strong shaking. It’s all the more concerning when most of the buildings in Kashmir aren’t even constructed using scientific techniques designed to withstand seismic events. The rampant construction boom is absolutely irrational and hazardous.

Whatever the scenario, the fact is that earthquakes are happening and can happen in future as well. Apart from global changes in ecology, most of which have been caused by human intervention, earthquakes and all other calamities have many other reasons to invade mankind.

In Islam, catastrophes like earthquakes have many other causes for shaking up the world. The term “Earthquake” has been mentioned indirectly in various verses of holy Quran and directly as a specific chapter 99 (Surah Az -Zalzala). The word Zalzala means great shaking, or earthquake. Comprising of eight verses, this chapter describes the violent shaking of the earth as—“ When the earth is convulsed with its quaking and the earth then disgorges its charges and man asks, “What is wrong with it?”, on that Day it will impart all its news because your Lord has inspired it. That Day people will emerge segregated to see the results of their actions. Whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it. Whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it (Surah Al-Zalzala: 1-8).

Obviously, it hints that in-appropriate and incorrect human actions bring disasters. These actions induce the tremors that serve as an eye-opener for many of the people and for the rest just a last call to desolation. A merciful reminder for the virtuous to continue to be humble and nice. An admonishing warning for wicked to reform before it’s too late. And of course, a message for everyone to understand and go after preparing for death. The inevitable end that can prop up anytime, anywhere. The fatality that is so near and yet so distant from our thoughts.

Besides, earthquakes also indicate the ending of the world itself. The finale that will finish off everything from the surface of the earth. The Day of Reckoning. The Day of Judgment. As reported in Bukhari-“The Hour (Last Day) will not be established until ... earthquakes will be very frequent”.

Unless we don’t make the correct use and best benefit of Nature as Allah’s bounty and stop violating the norms of a healthy society, quakes will continue to haunt and hit us. Whenever we talk about quakes, let’s talk about death as well. Whether ‘Mega-Quake’ hits us or not, we should be ready for the eternal journey. Let’s wake up to eternal reality.