ASSESSMENT OF THE SEISMIC VULNERABILITY OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS OF SRINAGAR CITY JAMMU AND KASHMIR

Earthquakes are unique among naturalhazards in that they occur without warning.Surveys show that collapsing buildings and structuresduring an earthquake can cause huge social, economic and human disasters. Earthquakes have occurred regularly over centuries in Kashmir andpeople have learnt to live with it. The aim of this paper is to assess thestructural vulnerability of residential buildings of Srinagar City on the basisof certain selected indicators. The results of the study indicate that theresidential buildings in the inner parts of the City are highly vulnerable toearthquakes and immediate measures should be taken to make them safe for thepeople residing in them.