When the 2004 tsunami
hit Indonesian coastal town Banda Ache, the killer waves flattened the
settlement within minutes. But an ancient mosque survived. The
old-fashioned mosque had huge archways which allowed the gushing water
to flow through without any resistance. Other structures blocked the
waves and came crashing down by the tsunami’s brute force.
A lesson was learnt and four years down the line the World Health
Organisation (WHO) wants India to incorporate specific design measures
which will make hospitals structurally sound during natural calamities.
While WHO understands the difficulties in retrofitting existing
hospitals, the health agency is pinning its hopes on the six new
tertiary care hospitals being built by the Centre during the 11th plan
period.
“The government should incorporate disaster reduction measures in the
architectural plans of these six hospitals. The cost will go up but the
extra money spent is worth of it,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh,
deputy regional director at the WHO’s South East Asia regional office.
The new hospitals are coming up in Patna, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur,
Rishikesh, Raipur and Bhopal. These hospitals are likely to face
floods, quakes and cyclone.
In the new millennium, India has witnessed three major natural
calamities – the Bhuj earthquake of 2001, the tsunami of 2004 and the
Jammu and Kashmir quake in 2005.
Instead, an increased capital cost of four per cent would have been
able to serve the victims if those buildings were structurally safe.
The ancient mosque in Ache, said Dr Singh, served as the hub of all
medical, relief, rescue and administrative activities as it was the
only standing structure in the flattened town. “A properly designed
hospital can do exactly the same during a disaster,” she added.
WHO has launched a global campaign to make governments aware of the
importance to make hospitals structurally safe.
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