Times of Central Asia , Kyrgyzstan
Oct 22 2004

Seismic hazard high in Tashkent
Topic: Environment
Country: Uzbekistan
Date: 22-10-2004 07:09
Source: TCA

TASHKENT (TCA). The Uzbek capital recently hosted an international
seminar on seismic safety of Tashkent which gathered more than 70
experts from government, non-governmental, and research institutions
of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and the United States.
Organized by the Uzbek ecological association Hayet and GeoHazards
International through USAID’s funding, the seminar aimed at combining
efforts to reduce the seismic hazard of Tashkent.

According to Kahhar Abdullabekov, director of the Uzbek Seismology
Institute, earthquakes measuring up to 7.5 on the Richter scale are
possible in Uzbekistan. The activity of tectonic movements in
Uzbekistan has increased since the late 1990s. Strong earthquakes
occurred in Andizhan in 2002 and in Kashkadarya in 1998.

Pulat Abdullakhanov of the Uzbek Red Crescent Society spoke about his
organization’s measures to prepare the citizens for possible
earthquakes. In his words, the Uzbek Red Crescent Society can quickly
set a field camp for 600 people. They also teach first aid skills to
the citizens. Since 2000, 50,700 people (including 9,100 residents of
Tashkent) have attended first aid courses. First aid groups have been
formed at 975 companies and organizations.

“In two makhallyas (neighborhoods) in Tashkent and eight makhallyas
in Tashkent province we are implementing a pilot project teaching
people to give first aid to victims of natural disasters,”
Abdullakhanov said.

A representative of the Tashkent department of the Emergency Ministry
said they coordinate the actions of the rescue and technical services
in case of an earthquake. In 449 makhallyas they have conducted
explanatory work and established rescue teams.

According to experts, a destructive earthquake in Almaty could kill
75,000 of 1.5 million residents of Almaty, 55,000 of 1.1 million
people in Dushanbe, and 45,000 of 2.2 million residents of Tashkent.
It is necessary to prepare citizens for natural and technogenic
disasters, thinks expert Vitaly Khalturin. In his words, an
earthquake in Kyoto, Japan, caused the largest economic damage in
history – US 0 billion, but killed only about 6,000 city residents
(which was due to the high level of preparedness for possible
earthquakes). The destructive earthquake in Iran in December 2003
took the lives of 43,000 people because they did not know the rules
of behavior and rescue in an earthquake.

“An earthquake in Spitak, Armenia, in 1988 killed 67% of the city
residents, the 1949 earthquake in Ashgabat killed 70,000 people, and
16,000 died in an earthquake in Istanbul in 1999,” said Khalturin. In
his opinion, it was corruption that played its negative role in the
severe consequences of these earthquakes. Buildings were constructed
according to unacceptable design projects, and without the geological
structure of this or that territory in mind. Thefts of building
materials at construction sites resulted in a bad quality of
buildings.

Experts said that an earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale
would destroy non-earthquake-proof buildings, seriously damage
standard-design buildings, and slightly damage earthquake-resistant
buildings. Today 39% of all apartment buildings in Tashkent are
large-panel buildings and accommodate 35% of the city residents.
Brick buildings make up 30% of all residential houses and are home to
28% of Tashkent’s citizens.

According to experts, more than 25% of multi-story apartment
buildings in Tashkent were built before 1958 and do not meet today’s
seismic resistance norms. More than 12% of residential houses and
non-residential buildings consist of vulnerable skeleton panels.
Tashkent also has industrial enterprises that might cause ecological
hazards in case of earthquakes. The 167-meter high Charvak dam is
located 70 kilometers from Tashkent. If destroyed, the dam will
release water that will flood a significant part of the city. An
underground nuclear reactor of a Tashkent’s research institute is
another potential hazard for the city.

More than 25% of Tashkent’s hospitals, schools, and kindergartens are
vulnerable to earthquakes because they were built on the subsided
soil which makes up more than 70% of the city area. The basements of
many buildings have subsided due to the leakage of water from the hot
and cold water pipeline systems and sewer systems.

The seminar participants came to the conclusion that Tashkent’s
citizens, authorities, companies and organizations have poor
knowledge about seismic hazards and their vulnerability to natural
and technogenic disasters. It is necessary to teach people how to act
in emergency situations like earthquakes. The seismic hazard map
prepared in 1977 does not meet the present-day requirements.

By the way, an earthquake that happened at 5:00 a.m. on 11 October
2004 (several hours before the seminar’s beginning) measured 2 on the
Richter scale and its epicenter was 210 kilometers from Tashkent, in
Kyrgyzstan’s territory.