'Collapse of buildings killed most people'

Sixteen Urban Search and Rescue teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are deployed in the earthquake-struck Nepal and working round-the-clock with sophisticated equipment. This is the second time the NDRF, established in 2009, has been deployed on a foreign soil, the first being in Japan in 2011.

The NDRF teams are spread across quake-hit localities like Kathmandu, Balaju Bypass, Chaumati, Gongbhu, Maharajganj, Brijeshwari, Basundhra Namunatol, Tilganga, A D Artillery Balaju and Shobha Bhagawati Bridge. NDRF Director General O P Singh, who is in Kathmandu leading the operations, spoke to Deccan Herald’s Shemin Joy over phone about the rescue and relief operations. Excerpts:

The NDRF has worked in several missions in the country. How different is this Nepal mission for the Force?

It is quite different because the pattern of the earthquake is not similar. Here, the structures are falling in pan-cake fashion. Some of the buildings have fallen are in a different pattern but most of the buildings have gone off in tilted form. All these patterns are visible here and that is why the operations are different at each location.

That is why we are employing more of technical equipment, sniffer dogs rather than doing it in a very traditional way. Technical equipment like life detectors and cutters are being used in a very big way and it is very handy for us in rescuing people.

Your teams have gone to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh for rescue and relief work following the quake originated in Nepal. How difficult was the operation in Nepal compared to these states?

In Bihar, the situation was entirely different. Bihar is a plain area, flattish land. More than 60 were killed due to earthquake. In Bihar, the structures have collapsed in a different fashion. In a mountainous region like Nepal, the scene is different. In Bihar, the rooftops are very strong and in the recent past, people are building earthquake-resistant structures. The quake-bearing capacity of buildings in Nepal is very weak and because of that, buildings have collapsed. They are building structures in a very casual, in a very unprofessional manner. There is lack of structural engineering part (in structures in Nepal) and that is why the buildings have collapsed.

You have gone to several quake-hit areas in Nepal. Can you describe
th devastation you saw? Is it because of the building structure that the damage to life and property is huge?

Yes. That is why we often say earthquake does not kill but the collapse of buildings, falling structures kill you. Due to this, people are trapped inside the debris. It is very difficult to take them out live. In the initial two to three days, we try to rescue people.
We were successful in pulling out around a dozen live victims. Now, getting live victims is very remote.

How long your teams will be there in Nepal?

We are here. The rescue operations are almost over because now what we are getting are dead bodies. We have suggested to the authorities (in Nepal) that they should now go for heavy earthmovers and equipment so that the debris is cleared. It is not possible to manually clear the debris. No rescue team can go on indefinitely looking for bodies. We are employing heavy equipment.

We might graduate into medical emergency services by establishing medical camps with our medical component, including doctors, paramedics and nurses. We have sufficient stock of medicines. Medicines are coming from India. We can utilise these, establish camps in affected areas and give relief to people and victims.

India, it is said, is better equipped in dealing with disasters compared to its neighbouring countries. But what do you think, India should learn from this disaster?

We should sensitise people about construction policy. We need go for earthquake-resistant structures and it is equally important for certain parts of our country also, those parts which are seismic zones.

Is it the biggest mission NDRF has undertaken?

We were the first to reach and the largest deployed in Nepal. Around 800 rescuers are part of the Indian team. You may say so (that this is the biggest NDRF mission) as this is the first biggest earthquake which we have experienced since the inception of NDRF. And that too, we are deployed in a foreign land. This is our second international exposure. The first was in Japan in 2011 when it faced triple disaster (earthquake and tsunami leading to Fukushima nuclear disaster).