We have plans for dams in Northern Areas like Bhasha dam and Bunji dam located in highly seismic zones. With the latest experience of an earthquake of 9+ scale in Japan that destroyed the nuclear plants coupled with a tsunami surge, we ought to plan for earthquake proof dams.
In Chinas Sichuan province, a dam was destroyed with a 7.9 scale quake triggered by the filling of the dam that resulted in a loss of 80 thousand human lives and a 350 km long fault line near the dam.
One would like to know about the safety margins for our dams in Northern Areas as to the level of earthquakes that they are designed to withstand so that a future disaster could be avoided. We have already experienced major earthquakes in Azad Kashmir and Patton in Northern Area and should plan for earthquake proof dams in the region.
MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI
Lahore
