A statue of Buddha from Kalimpong-My favourite !

The Himalayan Earthquake

It was very unfortunate that a strong earthquake struck East India too in September 2011. Once again Nature showed how it can attack our lives without warning and how powerful it is that it dominates and threatens our very existence with it’s strength and force all the time.

My friends in Darjeeling and Sikkim told me how traumatic this experience was for them. It was devastating for them…I fervently hope that they’re able to rebuild their lives and abandon the painful memories and fear of this tragic incident. I feel terrible about all the painful experiences and challenges they had to endure during repeated tremors and landslides. The quakes combined with weather, landslides, electricity cuts and road blocks made it worse for them and the rescue operators though the Army and National Disaster Response Force managed to carry out successful rescue operations with it’s strength and iron-like determination.

I remember how peaceful it was to spend my vacation there a couple of weeks back. It was so serene and calm. I did not know then that in weeks to come this peace and tranquillity would be robbed by forces of nature and destroyed by the powerful hands of earthquake.

When I visited the East in August, on our journey to Gangtok we got stuck on the road for about five hours due to a landslide and as darkness started engulfing the area in the evening we feared that we may have to spend the night on the road. I remember how tiring and unpleasant that experience was but it cannot compare to the fearful experience of those people who must have been stuck on the road in darkness and rain in this earthquake.   

Earlier on this year Japan suffered from an earthquake far worse than this. There was immense destruction and loss of lives there despite their efficient disaster management system. The rest of us are not so well prepared to deal with such calamities in comparison to Japan. Most countries do not take this that seriously and do not realize that the shadows of massive destruction by natural calamities are always present in our lives even if we adopt a careless attitude and choose to ignore it.

We must take strong measures to create earthquake proof buildings and seriously educate the people in dealing with such events. In this recent quake, it was reported that some died of stampede somewhere in Bihar. The lack of knowledge creates people to panic and make matters worse at times like this when it is so essential to try hard to safeguard all our lives. Organizing earthquake drills in schools and neighbourhoods is required to prepare people for such eventualities. Maintaining earthquake kits as well as informing everyone about evacuation routes and places is equally important. In Japanese schools, earthquake drills are held regularly to equip the students in dealing with such events. As a student in Japan in the early 80s, I remember these earthquake drills where we were taught to get under our desks and hold onto the legs of the desk till the quake lasted.We were also given these cushions that could be converted into hoods to protect our heads at that time. 

In Japan, we always maintained an earthquake kit. The earthquake kit contained water, first-aid kit, canned food, can opener, candles, matchbox, flashlight, radio, batteries, medicines, cash & change, passport, some clothes etc. Such a kit aids you in your survival after severe destruction caused by a quake. The world is forever vulnerable to such natural calamities but the absence of knowledge within communities to deal with such disasters makes it all the more dangerous for all of us. A good disaster management system has to be adopted in all countries to train us to respond to such events.  

http://nickiworldtranscendingcultures.blogspot.com/p/japans-die-hard-courage-in-adversity.html