Earthquakes and
economic growth
The people of Nepal are still recovering from the huge
destruction of the 7.8 earthquake (EQ) last April 25 plus succeeding tremors
that occurred almost daily. Those tremors have killed 8,000+ people and injured
thousands more.
Some hard lessons must be learned and relearned from
those events. And not only for Nepal but many other developing countries, in
particular, other Asian countries in the
“Pacific Ring of Fire.”
One, EQs are
part of nature, part of the continuing evolution of our planet’s geography and
geology. Thus, mild or strong EQs and volcanic eruptions are as natural as
wet-dry or winter-spring-summer-fall seasonal cycle in the planet.
For instance, as of May 16, Asia has had (magnitude 1.5 or greater) 70
earthquakes (EQs) in the past 7 days, 223 in the past month, and 1,650 in the past year. (source: http://earthquaketrack.com/v/asia/recent)
That means that about 10 EQs a day occur in Asia alone
over the past week and month, and 4.5
EQs a day over the past year. The magnitude 7.8 EQ with epicenter in Bharatpur
last April is the biggest EQ in Asia this year. Below is a review of very
strong EQs over the past decade, most of which occurred in Indonesia (ID), Japan
and Philippines (PH).
Table 1. Huge
earthquakes in Asia over the last 10 years.
The super-strong EQ in in the waters of Indonesia in
January 2004 has created huge tidal waves in the Indian Ocean and killed more
than 230,000 in 14 countries. The EQ in the waters of Japan in March 2011 also
created huge tsunamis and killed nearly 16,000 people and injured several
thousands more.
Below is a list of very strong EQs in Asia that occurred
more than a decade past.
Table 2. Huge
earthquakes in Asia more than 11 years ago.
Two, strong
structures are required especially in countries which are in big, long EQ faults
and volcanic belts. Countries and islands in the “Pacific Ring of Fire” where
about 80 percent of all earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur, from north to
south America, and from north to south east Asia, are particularly more
vulnerable.
Three, EQs in mountainous countries like Nepal can cause more
destruction than EQs of same magnitude in flat or valley countries and islands
This is because mountainous areas are prone to huge landslides and ice
avalanche if those mountains shake
strongly.
Four, more
economic growth, higher productivity of the people will allow them to have more income so they can build or buy
stronger houses and buildings that will not crack or
collapse even for EQs that are magnitude 7-8 strong.
And five,
governments of EQ-prone countries should be strict in monitoring and enforcing
strong building qualities but relaxed and non-bureaucratic in imposing property
and structural taxes and fees. The purpose is to unburden the owners and
builders of those structures of high taxes and fees so they can spend more
resources in ensuring the stability and quality of their buildings.
-------------See also:
Business 360-22: Nepal's Tourism Potential, February 23, 2015
Business 360--23: Electricity and Development, March 07, 2015
Business 360-24: Reducing Construction and Electricity Permits, April 08, 2015
Business 360-25, Economic Liberalization and GDP Expansion, June 23, 2015
Nepal 4: Earthquake and Civil Society Initiatives, April 27, 2015
Nepal 5: Building Quality, Construction Permits and Earthquake, April 28, 2015
Nepal 5: Building Quality, Construction Permits and Earthquake, April 28, 2015
Earthquake 5: Japan EQ + Snow, March 17, 2011
Earthquake 6: One Year of Japan EQ and Tsunami, March 12, 2012
