ISLAMABAD, Feb 7: Technical experts have proposed to the government to prepare a new comprehensive building code to avoid massive destruction like that of the Oct 8 earthquake. They also said that doing this would place Islamabad in a less hazardous zone recommended by US experts.

The government was also urged to create an effective legislative and administrative mechanism to get new building codes implemented for the construction of public and private buildings throughout Pakistan.

The government’s appointed committee of technical experts and officials concerned have finalized its recommendations and submitted it to the government urging it to ensure compliance and verify the specified earthquake-resistant and construction practices in the country.

The recommendations, compiled in the shape of a report, a copy of which was obtained by Dawn, called for replacing the Building Code of Pakistan, which put Islamabad-Rawalpindi in Zone 2, with a “comprehensive” building code taking into account the seismic design parameters and earthquake-resistant design for the entire country.

The experts proposed to put the twin cities in Zone 3. But the Unified Building Code 1997 and the 1998 US Army Corps of Engineers document TM 5 809-10 put Islamabad in Zone-4, which is described as a ‘major hazard zone, near fault’.

“The area of known fault zones should be avoided for construction,” the report said, adding that the overall planning of buildings should be carried out in such a way that the selected structural systems become inherently effective in resisting seismic loads.

The report also said: “In view of the observation of the impact of the devastating earthquake of October 8, 2005, which has caused collapse of a multi-story building and cracks in numerous buildings in Islamabad, located at a distance of more than 90 km from the epicentre, it is now realized that the level of seismic hazard considered for designing of buildings in Islamabad-Rawalpindi needs re-evaluation.”

Last year’s Oct 8 earthquake, having a magnitude of 7.6, had caused widespread damage in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and parts of the NWFP.

The guidelines for routine maintenance of buildings should include preventive measures to ensure that any “aging” and deterioration of buildings and associated works does not increase the risk of safety to any functional performance of the building.

“Comprehensive geotechnical investigations must be carried out at each site. The investigation programme must address the identification of sub-surface strata, determination of soil composition, engineering classification of soil based on grain-size distribution and plasticity and determination of in-situ relative density through performing the Standard Penetration Test (SPT)”.