DOHA: Tremors from Tuesday’s earthquake in Iran that were felt here measured 2.4 on the Richter scale, while skyscrapers in the West Bay area of the city are designed to resist quakes of up to four magnitude.
More than the towers, it is old buildings in the country which, though not tall, were built in the days when buildings were not designed to be quake-resistant, that face a threat from earthquakes and their aftershocks.
Towers in West Bay have been designed in such a way that they are totally safe, local Arabic daily Al Raya reported yesterday, quoting a professor of civil engineering at Qatar University, Dr Yasir Mahjoub.
These towers were designed by international consultants and built by global contractors, Dr Mahjoub said. If any defect was found in a building it could be due to a fault in its design and not because the basic rules of design were not followed, he said.
Some people think only skyscrapers are affected in an earthquake. This is not true. Old buildings that were designed earlier and were not quake-resistant could be highly vulnerable, said the professor.
He said buildings must be routinely checked every ten years or so for safety and people should be made aware of what precautions to take in the event of a quake or its aftershocks.
Ahmed Jolo, who heads the Qatari Engineers’ Association, was quoted as saying that Qatar’s meteorology department should have the latest equipment to detect and measure earthquakes and their aftershocks.
“The staff of the department should be trained to handle such equipment,” Jolo added. A source from the meteorology department told the daily there was no way a tremor could be forecast. The GCC region has very low risk of earthquakes. THE PENINSULA
