Increasing frequency and intensity of earthquakes has renewed the urgency in improving the preparedness and in making the infrastructure earthquake-resistant. Sikkim, a northeastern Indian Himalayan state, was hit by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake of intensity VII on 18 September 2011, which triggered hundreds of boulder falls and landslides, causing extensive damage to public and private infrastructure. An assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the various structures present in rural areas was carried out. Assessment of the quantum of damage indicated that though

An exogenously defined poverty line yields poverty headcounts between any two points in time that are a net outcome of the two-way traffic into and out of poverty. This paper argues that, for the rural Indian context, where housing is too lumpy and illiquid to be used for consumption smoothing, transitions in housing quality in cross-sectional data sets can provide revealed evidence of household perceptions of downside risk to their current consumption levels.

Some states have banned mechanised mining, but the mafia is not ready to obey. Illegal mining is hollowing the riverbed putting at risk the stability and ecology of rivers. This special report in Down To Earth examines the murky business of sand mining.

Rivers in the southwest coast of India are under immense pressure due to various kinds of human activities among which indiscriminate extraction of construction grade sand is the most disastrous one. The situation is rather alarming in the rivers draining the Vembanad lake catchments as the area hosts one of the fast developing urban-cum-industrial centre, the Kochi city, otherwise called the Queen of Arabian Sea. The Vembanad lake catchments are drained by seven rivers whose length varies between 78 and 244 km and catchment area between 847 and 5,398 km2.

Biomimetics is a field of science that studies biological processes for effectively using them in the development of innovative engineering materials and systems. It is a new field of emergence in materials science and engineering in which lessons learned from biology form the basis for evolution of novel technological materials. Biomimetics is finding application in diverse areas ranging from micro/nano electronics to civil/structural engineering.

Reducing carbon emissions is not just about curbing vehicular pollutants. Those in the business of green have realised that using energy-efficient construction material can make all the difference. And, windows can help a great deal in the process.

The stone wool insulation material produced at Dahej, will save 1,000,000,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

Elizabeth Hausler aims to bring quake-resistant construction to the developing world : Interview.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028138.300-quake-engineer-earthq...