The problem is that we may once again confuse luck with fate. Despite our experience with the 2005 earthquake, there are no signs that we have learnt anything. There was a demand after the collapse of the Margalla Towers in Islamabad after the 2005 quake, for earthquake-resistant buildings. Construction companies boasted in ads that their buildings met the standards required to withstand even the most destructive quakes. That turned out to be nothing more than a short-lived fad. It is an open secret that building associations in all major cities of the country are in bed with land mafias, abetting their desire to take shortcuts in search of profits.
High-rise buildings are death traps. They are shoddily constructed, lack fire escapes and are rarely up to international standards. Given that major earthquake fault lines run through much of Pakistan, this is a risk we cannot afford. We need to demand that buildings that are not safe be reinforced or demolished. Cities like Los Angeles and Tokyo, that are under constant threat of earthquakes, have pioneered earthquake engineering that allows their buildings to withstand even the most severe quakes. Given that Pakistan falls under that same high-risk category, we need to emulate them. That will not be possible without enforced zoning laws and an end to the culture of corruption that has poisoned the construction industry in the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 24th, 2011.
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