INDIANREALTYINSEARCHFOREARTHQUAKEWARNING

SYSTEM

Forusall,realestateisatermsynonymouswithstructuresandbuildings.Thesebuildings
canbebroadlycategorisedintoindustrial,commercialandresidentialsetups.Beinga
developingnation,weusuallyobserverealtydevelopmentinclusters;whereindustries,
commercialandresidentialspaces,allgettheirseparatelandparcelsforconstruction.Asa
result,acityisusuallyfilledupwithoffices,shoppingcomplexesandhousesbuiltontall
skyscrapers.Inthemeanwhilethough,sinceindustriesandplant&machineriesgetland
banksaroundtheoutskirts,theseunitsendupsurroundingafullydevelopedcity,whichin
caseofanaturalcalamitycanmultiplythedamage.
Foranyformofdevelopment,realestatesectoristhebackbone.Sinceprivatisation,more
andmoredomesticplayershaveemergedandenteredintotherealtysectorwhichisallowing
ourcountrytomeetthemuchneededsupplyofhousing,retailspacesandoffices.Thisinturn
shiftsourfocustowardstheimportanceofhavingasystemthatcankeepussafeandalarmed
incaseofanaturalcalamity.
Now,calamitiescanbeclassifiedintwoways,whereearthquakes,tsunamis,cyclonesand
othersarisefromnaturalcausesandwontknockyourdoorsbeforecoming.Ontheother
hand,floods,landslidesandothersmayormaynotbeduetonaturalreasons.Having
improperdrainagesystemsandirresponsiblewaysofconstructiononhilltopscancause
floodsandlandslides,wherenaturecannotberegardedasareason.Tsunamisandcyclones
arelikelytohitthecoastalregionsmoreandusuallygiveussometimetoprepareand
evacuate;butEarthquakesdonotgiveustimetoevenreact.Withmoderndaytechnologies
andequipments,developersareworkingveryhardtowardsstructuralstabilityandsoundness.
Butallcanstillgoinvainwhenyouresittingrightabovetheseismiczones4and5,where
Earthquakescanhitatmagnitudesofover7and8.DevelopersinIndiahaveaccesstoRCC
framedstructuresandballbearingsinstalledunderthebaseofstructuresthatallowthe
buildingstobecomeresistant.Moderndayconstructiontechniquesandequipmentscan
allowthestructurestobecomeresistanttosomeextentonly.Itdoesnotmeanthatthe
structurewontshakeduringanearthquakeortherewontbeanydamagetotheproperty.It
simplymeansthatstructureswillholdtheregroundbutdoesn'tguaranteesafetyoflifeor
property.Indianstructureslocatedespeciallyunderseismiczones4and5requiresystems
thatcanalarmtheinhabitantsincaseofanearthquake,sharesBijenderGoel,MD,Terra
TechcomPvt.Ltd.
Inlasttwodecades,aboutamillionpeoplehavediedduetoEarthquakesandthelossto
assetissimplyuntold.DevelopersinIndia,especiallyinNCRregionsareworkingdiligently
towardsprovidingEarthquakeresistancebydevelopingRCCframedstructuresandeven
increasingthedepthofexcavationtoprovidemorestrengthtothetowers.Itistruethough,
thatincaseofamegaquake,ourcitiesrequireasystemthatcanhelpinallowingsometime

forpeopletoevacuatethebuildingsbeforethequaketakesfullshape,believesVikas
Bhasin,MD,SayaGroup.
Toanswersuchqueriesandalarmpeoplebeforethesecondarywavesi.e.thewavesthatcan
causedamage,arrives;TerraTechcomPvt.Ltd.hasenteredIndiaandothercountriesof
SouthAsia,wheretherearehigherseismiczonesandnumberofearthquakeoccurrencesare
more.IncollaborationwithaGermanbasedcompany,SectyElectronicsGmBH,itbrings
Onsiteearlyearthquakewarningandsecuritysystem(OnsiteEWS).InIndia,beforeOn
siteEWS,wehadtheRegionalearthquakewarningsystem(REWS)whichhadbeeninstalled
atUttrakhandandwasputunderaseriesoftests.Thisproducthadbeengivingfalsealarms
andthus,lostitscredibilityandeffectiveness.Whereas,theOnsiteEWShasbeentestedand
approvedbyChennaibasedStructuralEngineeringResearchCentre(CSIRSERC),apioneer
advancedseismictestingandresearchlaboratoryundertheCouncilofScientific&Industrial
Research(CSIR);thathasallowedustoinstalltheOnsiteEWSdeviceatHIPAofficein
GurgaonandNewSecretariatBuildingHaryanainChandigarh,addsGoel.
Earthquakeemitstwosetsofwaves,firstprimarywaves(P)whichareharmless,followedby
damagingwavessecondarywaves(S)andsurfacewaves(R).Bydetectingtheseprimary
(P)waves,wecanwarnthepeoplethatanearthquakeisonitsway.Earthquakeshave
becomeanissuebeforethisworldandthereisasevereneedofanysuchearthquakewarning
systemthatcanwarnpeopleatleastfewsecondsbeforethedamagingsecondary(S)waves
strike.OnsiteEWSdevelopedbySectyElectronicssensestheprimarywavesofan
earthquakeanditseightthresholdvaluesareprogrammedinsuchamannerthatitcalculates
theintensityof5atthethresholdvalue01andtriggersalarmattheintensityof6(threshold
value02).Thresholdvalues03,04,05,06and07areprogrammedinsuchamannertoshut
offtherunningapplications,likeparkingofelevatorstonearestfloors,shuttingoff
gas/power/watersupply,andopen/exitgates.Thresholdvalue08tellsthatearthquakeisin
thebuilding.Thus,itisveryusefulforITsectors,EducationalInstitutions,ShoppingMalls,
PublicBuildings,Industries,Apartments,Multistorybuildings,Hotels,Cinemas,Shopping
Malls,Bridges,Tunnels,Metro/Railways/Airports,Nuclear/PowerStations,Oilrefineries
andalmosteverywhere.Thisproductatpresentisthemostidealprecautionarymeasure
againstEarthquakes,wherepeoplecangetsometimetoreacttothesituationandevacuate
thepremises.TheOnsiteEWSifreachesouttothecountry,willallowcountlesslivestoget
savedandinsomecases,evenassets,aversRakeshYadav,Chairman,AntrikshIndia.
IncaseofacalamitylikeanEarthquake,everysecondcounts.InacountrylikeIndiawhere
realestatesectorisonaboomanddevelopinglakhsofunitseveryyear,imaginethenumber
ofpeoplewhowillbelivinginthecomingyears.Multipleresearchesandreportsare
suggestingthatthereisabigearthquakedue,whichwillhitIndiaanywhere,anditislikea
timebombticking.Insuchascenario,OnsiteEWSistheonlytechnologyavailableto
mankindtodaywhichcanhelpreducethelossesoflifeinfuture,sharesandfurtherexplains
Goel.Speakingabouttheseismiczones4and5,almostentireNCRandnorthernpartsof
Indiaareapartofit.Everyyearwewitnessseveralearthquakeswithvariedmagnitudes
whoseepicentresareusuallyinNepalorAfghanistan,andstillitsrippleeffectsaresostrong

thatwecanfeelithundredsandthousandsofkilometresaway.Indiahasbeenawitnessto
manymajorearthquakesinthepast,andonejustcannotforgetIndias52ndRepublicDayin
2001whenanearthquakethatlasted2minuteshadstruckGujaratwithitsepicentrebeingin
Bhujwithadepthofonly16Kms.Asmanyas20,000peoplediedandover1,50,000people
wereinjuredwithalmost4,00,000homesandotherpropertiesdestroyed.Everymajor
earthquakeinIndiahasresultedwithalossofthousandsoflives.Withthelandbeinglimited
andputtousefordevelopment,thereistremendouspressureonthegroundbelowandwith
peopleresidingontheselands,theyareundertheriskofgettingexposedtosuchunforeseen
damages.Thus,itbecomesimperativetohavedevicesthatcanalarmbeforethesecondary
wavesofanearthquakestrike.AndwiththeavailabilityofOnsiteEWSnowinIndia,
damagetolifeandpropertycanbesignificantlyreduced,saysDhirajJain,Director,
MahagunGroup.
Indianrealestatesectorisonadevelopmentspreewithnumerousresidentialand
commercialprojectsmushroominginTier1and2citiesofthecountry.Asthesecities
develop,migrationswillincrease,duetohighjobopportunitiesandthus,thesewillbecome
denselypopulatedovertheyears.Asmoreandmorepeopleresideinonecity,theriskof
loosinghighernumberoflivesincreaseasEarthquakeswonttellthetimeandplacebefore
theystrike.Withthepresenceofsuchatechnologythatcangrantevenasinglesecondto
savelives,itishighlywelcomedbytherealtysectorandverysoonwewillseethissystem
becomingoperationalinseveraltownshipsandothercommercialprojectsinIndia,
concludesKushagrAnsal,Director,AnsalHousing.