Chennai: Lima on the Richter scale may be moderate according to international norms, but not for Chennai which has thousands of buildings built without taking into account seismic activities.
Most of the structures that are built more than a decade are not possible to qualify for seismic requirements that exist from the national building code, enhanced based on the frequency of the earthquake.
Even though the city was under the seismic zone III and was categorized as a medium risk zone, structural experts underlined the need to improve the building to make them earthquake resistant so they were safe for residents if public relations occurred.
Experts say the magnitude of the impact of the moderate earthquake in buildings in the city will have a higher earthquake center close to the beach.
Chennai-based structural engineers are Ramakrishnan, who have designed buildings throughout the country in accordance with the seismic zone, older building words will be damaged in such situations.
“People are looking for water sources, public transportation and location while choosing a house, but there is a lack of awareness about seismic parameters for home.
In fact, buildings built more than 10 years ago must be overhauled to comply with codes and seismic designs,” he said.
Strengthening has become common in cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, he added.
Joint Development and Building Regulations Tamil Nadu determined the norm to comply with the national building code for construction ranging from one-story house to multi-floor structures.
Kumar, former Chairman of the Confederation of the Indian Real Estate Developer Association (Credii), Chapter Tamil Nadu, said the developer had moved to Mivan technology to make earthquake-resistant structures.