Guwahati: People in the city, especially those living in highrises, are feeling increasingly unsafe, especially after Saturday's quake in Nepal.

The city falls in the 'very severe intensity zone' or Zone V, the highest-risk quake zone.

A National Disaster Management (NDM) report has marked 38 cities in the country as vulnerable to earthquakes and Guwahati is among them. The report says, "Typically, majority of the construction in these cities are not earthquake-resistant. Thus, an earthquake in any one of these cities would turn into a major disaster."

"We have reason to feel worried after seeing the horrifying scenes of Nepal on television and in newspapers. Many buildings in the city have developed cracks and an earthquake of such magnitude can easily cause massive destruction here. I hope the builders and the administration will be careful in this regard," said Bikash Gupta a resident of the Athgaon locality of the city.

Several buildings in the city have developed cracks after a series of aftershocks rattled northern and eastern India since Saturday. Some have also raised questions over the credibility of builders and blamed them for not following building norms properly.

Slamming builders, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) advisor Akhil Gogoi said promoters say there is nothing to worry about keeping their business interests in mind.

"It's a question about protecting human lives. Thousands are living in apartments here. Even the disaster management report says more than 35% of the buildings are vulnerable in the city," Akhil said.

The Kamrup (Metro) district administration has taken several steps to inspect buildings — commercial, residential, schools and hospitals. It has issued notices to 30 apartment authorities and asked them to submit the relevant details within 15 days.

"We have already begun inspecting school and hospital buildings. Besides, we have issued notices seeking details. The state disaster management authorities have conducted a screening. We will also check the condition of these buildings," said Kamrup (M) deputy commissioner M Angamuthu.