Public perception about enforcement of building codes as risk reduction strategy for seismic safety in Quetta, Baluchistan

Abstract

In the recent earthquake of 2013, ninety percent of the buildings were demolished in Awaran district of Baluchistan. This heavy damage was due to poor compliance of building codes and low preparedness. In addition to poor construction practices and lack of implementation of building regulations, such earthquakes have exacerbated the people vulnerability to a considerable level. The objective of the paper is to understand the people׳s perception and awareness of building code implementation for seismic safety in Quetta. For this purpose, data were collected from 200 hundred respondents using simple random sampling from Balochistan and specifically Awaran. The results revealed that most of the respondents are marginally aware of the seismic risks and building codes. However, they do face earthquake risks from time to time. The results further reveal that neither the implementing authority has taken steps, nor the people have tried to safeguard their construction for seismic safety. The article recommends that there is no more important factor that may reduce a community risk from earthquake than the adoption and enforcement of building codes. The article further suggests awareness programs about building codes particularly at district, union council and community level, using it as risk reduction strategy in earthquake hazard prone area of Baluchistan.