Chandigarh, November 7: ONE thing became clear on October 8. Had we been equipped with the latest technology in the field of disaster preparedness, or more precisely earthquake prediction, the situation would not have been so tragic.

Now, taking a step in this direction is a Delhi-based NGO, Global Hydrogeological Solutions, that has been granted a Rs 3-billion project by the Department of Science and Technology that would help predict earthquakes in the country.

Calling it the first-ever such experiment in the country — rather in the sub-continent — an area in the high-earthquake prevalence zone, NGO’s president Dr D.K. Chadha said, ‘‘The principle behind the experiment is similar to that employed in the earthquake prone zones in Japan, the USA and other countries. In fact, recently in Israel, an entire city was evacuated half an hour before the prediction of an earthquake came in.’’

Dr Chadha is the former chairman of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) under the Government of India. He was speaking to Newsline after delivering a lecture at the Department of Geology, Panjab University, here today.

The project would basically entail studying the fluctuations in the stress levels in underground water. The project has been initiated to cover Delhi and Himachal Pradesh. Equipment worth Rs 1 lakh has already been procured from the USA.

‘‘We are working on the premise that at various places the underground water levels register an unusual increase or decrease before an earthquake. A study of the water level over a period of time can be used to predict if the place is about to be hit by an earthquake or not,’’ said Dr Chadha.

Under the current project, the water levels in Delhi and Himachal Pradesh would be observed for a period of one year and the water level would be registered after an interval of every half-an-hour. Any major fluctuations in the average levels would indicate the possibility of an earthquake hitting the area.

‘‘The levels can either decrease or increase considerably just before the earthquake. In fact, during the Bhuj earthquake that had led to vast devastation, the water level was observed on experimental basis every four hours in the remote area through sensors. The recorded level too showed fluctuations,’’ he added.