A meeting to develop Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) System in Himachal Pradesh was held under the Chairmanship of Principal Secretary Revenue and Disaster Management Onkar Chand Sharma here today.Shri Sharma said that seismic hazard is very high as maximum area of the state lies in Himalayas which is one of the most seismically active regions in the world. A developed Earthquake Early Warning System could be an effort in the direction to mitigate the seismic hazards in the state. He said that in this regard, IIT Roorkee had sent a proposal to the State Government to establish Earthquake Early Warning System. IIT Roorkee has already installed such Earthquake Early Earning System in Uttarakhand with the help of State Government which is running very effectively by generating database of earthquake events, generating public awareness and detailed research on seismic activities.He said that according to IIT Roorkee’s proposal Himachal Pradesh may put earthquake sensors in different parts of the State which will detect earthquake activities in real time. The warning may be communicated to the general public by a network of sirens. If the earthquake has its epicenter in Kangra or Mandi regions, the people in the State Capital may get lead time to take action say by 30 to 35 seconds.
Similarly, the expected lead time to the major cities if 1905 Kangra earthquake repeats in the region would be Solan 42 seconds, Mandi 20 seconds, Dalhausie 8 seconds, Dehradun 77 seconds, Chandigarh 43 seconds, Ludhiana 37 seconds, Amritsar 38 seconds, Panipat 93 seconds and Delhi 123 seconds.Shri Sharma said that timely action may save many lives if there is earthquake in the State in future and such an early warning system is in place and institutionalized and such EEWS will help generating database of earthquakes in the state and generating mass awareness on earthquake safety.After detailed deliberations, Onkar Sharma said that the State Government may consider and more discussion will be held to take up this proposal to minimize the expected loss and damage due to impending earthquakes in the State of high magnitude in future by creating a culture of safety, improving the mock exercises familiarities and awareness for earthquake safety in general public.Associate Professor IIT Roorkee Dr. Kamal, Dean-School of Earth & Environment Sciences Central University Himachal Pradesh, Kangra Prof. A.K. Mahajan, Director IMD Shima Dr. Manmohan Singh, Principal Scientific Officer, HIMCOSTE Dr. S.S. Randhawa and Director-cum-Special Secretary (DMC) D.C. Rana were present in the meeting.