From Kutsh to Kashmir: Lessons for use

Since, October 11, 2005 early hours AIDMI team is in Kashmir assessing losses and needs. The biggest gap found is of understanding earthquake. Five key gaps are addressed here. From Kutch to Kashmir: Lessons for Use Understanding India's vulnerability: Using earthquake science to enhance disaster preparedness. Every year, thousands flock to Kashmir, in India and Pakistan to marvel at her spectacular scenery and majestic mountain ranges. However, the reality of our location and mountainous surroundings is an inherent threat of devastating earthquakes. In addition to accepting earthquakes as a South Asian reality, we as humanitarian respondents as well as risk reduction specialists must now look to science to enhance disaster risk mitigation and preparedness. The humanitarian communities know little about what scientific communities have discovered and what could be used to mitigate risk of earthquakes. Similarly, scientific communities need to know how to put scientific knowledge in mitigation perspective from the point of view of non-scientific communities.