Kochi shakes, people panic

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It was 2.10 pm when Kochi’s tall buildings shook with the impact of a mild tremor that lasted five seconds. Tens of thousands of people first felt they were feeling dizzy but soon realised that it was an earthquake.

In a bid to save their lives, they rushed out of their houses and high-rise office buildings in panic and stood outside on the roads. After two hours, when everyone thought things were back to normal, Kochi shook again at 4.16 pm and this lasted 10 seconds, giving people another horrific moment.

The tremors were felt in several parts of the city. Offices and building in the city were evacuated following warning messages of more tremors by the police and district authorities.

The quake also brought with it its share of chaos and confusion as vehicular traffic movement in Kochi, already suffering due to ongoing metro rail work, took a hit. With people taking to the road after the eviction drive, most roads were blocked. People rushed home in droves, resulting in crowded scenes at the railway stations and bus depots too.

But interestingly, Kochi didn’t have a facility to measure the magnitude of the earthquake. The famed one and only science and technology university, CUSAT doesn’t have such a facility either and an enquiry with professors at the Marine Geology and Geo Physics Department revealed that they are yet to get this apparatus since it is quite expensive to set up and to maintain.

The only available facility to measure quakes in the region is in Idukki and this is maintained by the Kerala State Electricity Board.

High-rises quake-resistant,say builders

Even as mild tremors rocked several parts of the state on Wednesday, DC reached out to builders of high-rises to know how safe residents in these apartments and those working in multi-storey structures were.

“There is no need for panic. All the buildings built by builders in the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associa-tions of India (CREDAI) are very safe and conform to the seismic zone 3 category.

The buildings will withstand quakes that measure up to 6 on the Richter scale,” said CREDAI Kerala chairman Abdul Aziz. He said Kerala may at the most be hit by a quake measuring 4 on the Richter scale.

Builders said that with the state issuing an order in 2004 making it mandatory for high-rises to be quake-resistant, they have been making structures that are quake-proof.

“Kerala is not a danger zone with regard to quakes and the local bodies are also ensuring that the norms are adhered to while passing plans and issuing structure stability certificates,” Aziz said.

Builders also stressed that qualified architects and structural designers are deployed to ensure quality structures.