Several experts are pointing to shoddy construction as the cause of much of the damage in the earthquake that struck Gujarat last week. Shah, an expert in global plate tectonics, said that the soil should be able to resist the weight of the building. According to Shah, who works with the New York City transit authority as a senior geologist, India is not paying attention to the building codes. He explains that codes are on the books, but what he sees in pictures betrays the fact that the codes were not followed. Vikram Prakash, a professor of architecture at the University of Washington - Seattle, told the Associated Press much the same thing.
Buildings legally have to be designed to withstand an earthquake.
According to Prakash, who recently spent three months in Ahmedabad with students from the University of Washignton and the University of Michigan, noted that some structures remained standing, though similar and close to those that collapsed, he said. Prakash added that city inspectors in Ahmedabad have the authority to stop work and order demolition of unsafe buildings, and that they have exercised that power in the past. Regulations generally call for structures to be reinforced with extra steel, cement and other bracing, Prakash said.