Guwahati, Nov. 23: Hemanta Hazarika, an engineer from Assam who teaches at Kyushu University of Japan, today said he wishes to apprise chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal of his model to prevent natural disasters.

Hazarika, now settled in Fukuoka in Kyushu, has designed a model by arranging used rubber tyres in the disaster-sensitive areas.

"Rubber, as we know, is elastic and absorbs energy. During an earthquake or landslide when the earth moves, energy is created. By arranging the tyres in layers, we can absorb that energy and stop the destruction," Hazarika told The Telegraph.

"I am willing to show the chief minister this project as Assam falls in an earthquake-prone area and also have floods every four month because of soil erosion. This can help the state avoid the destruction," he said.

Hazarika was here to attend a two-day workshop on application of bio-engineering techniques for mitigating river bank erosion organised by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority that began yesterday. He gave a presentation on a model using rubber tyres to mitigate erosion.

Natural disasters are often interconnected and stopping one will stop the chain of destruction that follows, he said.

"One natural disaster leads to a series of other disasters. For example, earthquake leads to landslide and river bank erosion which will in turn leads to flooding. It is called compound disaster. So, if tyres are arranged along the landslide and erosion-prone areas, the series of disasters can be avoided," he added.

"The erosion is caused by the force of water striking against the banks because of which loose soils get washed away. By arranging rubber tyres, both above and below the water along the banks, will trap that force and mitigate the erosion."

Hazarika said the tyre embankment will be much more effective and cheaper than concrete embankment.

"The concrete embankment is strong but will break because of the constant water force. However, tyres will just trap the force and rebound it. Even high structures can be saved by arranging tyres at their bases as shock absorbers. It is expected to last longer and the installation cost will not be very high," said Hazarika.