Lok Sabha Question No. 563 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-19
Subject: Seismic Zone
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: GOWDAR MALLIKARJUNAPPA SIDDESHWARA, CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI

- (a) country.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 563 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 2017

## SEISMIC ZONE

563.   SHRI. G.M. SIDDESHWARA: SHRI. CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI: Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:
2. (a) the names of cities categorized under seismic zone in the country at present;
3. (b) whether houses and building in these cities are not earthquake proof and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
4. (c) the  preventive  measures  taken/being  taken  by  Government  in  this regard particularly for homes/buildings which are not earthquake proof;
5. (d) whether  certain  norms  have  been  put  in  place  for  such  areas  or whether these have been put in a separate category; and
6. (e) if so, the details in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES

(SHRI Y. S. CHOWDARY)

- Earthquake  -  prone  areas  of  the  country  have  been  identified  on  the basis of scientific inputs relating to seismicity, earthquakes occurred in  the  past  and  tectonic  setup  of  the  region.  Based  on  these  inputs, Bureau  of  Indian  Standards  [IS  1893  (Part  I):2002],  has  grouped  the country  into  four  seismic  zones,  viz.  Zone  II,  III,  IV  and  V.  Of  these, Zone V is seismically the most active region, while zone II is the least. Broadly, Zone - V comprises entire northeastern India, parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, part of North Bihar and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Zone - IV covers remaining  parts  of  Jammu  and  Kashmir  and  Himachal  Pradesh, National  Capital  Territory  (NCT)  of  Delhi,  Sikkim,  Northern  Parts  of Uttar  Pradesh,  Bihar  and  West  Bengal,  parts  of  Gujarat  and  small portions of Maharashtra near the west coast and Rajasthan. Zone - III comprises Kerala, Goa, Lakshadweep islands, remaining parts of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and West Bengal, Parts of Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu and Karnataka. Zone - II covers remaining parts of

A list of important cities falling in various seismic zones, has also been prepared by BIS and is given as Annexure-I.

- (b) Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has published criterion for construction  of  earthquake  resistant  structures.  Buildings  are  now being made earthquake resistant.
- (c-e)  BIS has prepared guidelines for retrofitting in existing structures. A list of code books on construction practices of buildings and structures, to minimize  the  earthquake  losses,  is  available.  In  addition  to  this, Housing  and  Urban  Development  Corporation  (HUDCO)  &  Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) have also published guidelines and brochures for construction and retrofitting of buildings. These guidelines are in wide circulation amongst the public and  the  administrative  authorities  responsible  for  the  design  and construction  of  earthquake  resistant  structures  in  earthquake  prone areas.

Loss  of  life  and  damage  of  property  due  to  earthquakes  could  be considerably  reduced  through  proper  planning  and  implementation  of pre-  and  post-disaster  preparedness  and  management  strategies  by respective  State  and  Central  Government  agencies  in  a  coordinated manner  following  the  above  mentioned  guidelines.  These  studies involving preparation of geological, geomorphologic and land use maps followed by drilling, geological logging, standard penetration test and geophysical studies to demarcate the zones of least to most damage prone areas within the urban areas so as to helps the respective town and  country  planning  agencies  to  formulate  perspective  planning within  the  overall  earthquake  impact  minimization  efforts.  Based  on infrastructure/building/ development  agencies  (Public  and  Private)  to  design  appropriate earthquake resistant  building  plans  based  on  the  relevant  BIS  Codes and  other  guidelines  of  BMTPC,  HUDCO  and  NDMA  for  across  the the above steps it is mandatory for all country.

National  Disaster  Management  Authority  (NDMA),  Ministry  of  Home Affairs  (MHA),  Ministry  of  Earth  Sciences  and  other  state  Disaster Management  Authorities,  have  also  taken  up  various  initiatives  to educate  and  enhance  awareness  amongst  general  public  and  school children  on  the  general  aspects  of  earthquakes,  their  impacts  and measures  to  mitigate  losses  caused  by  them.  A  National  Disaster general superintendence, direction and control of the NDMA for the purpose of

Response Force (NDRF) is also functional under the specialized response to natural and man-made disasters.

## List of important towns falling in seismic zone III, IV and V

| Town        | State/UT       | Zone   | Town        | State/UT       | Zone   |
|-------------|----------------|--------|-------------|----------------|--------|
| Agra        | Utter Pradesh  | III    | Chitradurga | Karnataka      | II     |
| Ahmedabad   | Gujarat        | III    | Coimbatore  | Tamil nadu     | III    |
| Ajmer       | Rajasthan      | II     | Cuddalore   | Tamil Nadu     | III    |
| Allahabad   | Utter Pradesh  | II     | Cuttack     | Orissa         | III    |
| Almora      | Uttrakhand     | IV     | Darbhanga   | Bihar          | V      |
| Ambala      | Haryana        | IV     | Darjeeling  | West Bengal    | IV     |
| Amritsar    | Punjab         | IV     | Dharwad     | Karnataka      | III    |
| Asansol     | West Bengal    | III    | Dehradun    | Uttrakhand     | IV     |
| Aurangabad  | Maharastha     | II     | Dharmpuri   | Tamil Nadu     | III    |
| Baharich    | Utter Pradesh  | IV     | Delhi       | Delhi          | IV     |
| Bangalore   | Karnataka      | II     | Durgapur    | West Bengal    | III    |
| Barauni     | Bihar          | IV     | Gangtok     | Sikkim         | IV     |
| Bareilly    | Utter Pradesh  | III    | Guwahati    | Assam          | V      |
| Belgaum     | Karnataka      | III    | Goa         | Goa            | III    |
| Bhatinda    | Punjab         | III    | Gulbarga    | Karnataka      | II     |
| Bhilai      | Chattiagarh    | II     | Gaya        | Bihar          | III    |
| Bhopal      | Madhya Pradesh | II     | Gorakhpur   | Utter Pradesh  | IV     |
| Bhubaneswar | Orissa         | III    | Hyderabad   | Andhra Pradesh | II     |
| Bhuj        | Gujarat        | V      | Imphal      | Manipur        | V      |
| Bijapur     | Karnataka      | III    | Jabalpur    | Madhya Pradesh | III    |
| Bikaner     | Rajasthan      | III    | Jaipur      | Rajasthan      | II     |
| Bokaro      | Jharkhand      | III    | Jamshedpur  | Jharkhand      | II     |
| Bulandshahr | Utter Pradesh  | IV     | Jhansi      | Utter Pradesh  | II     |
| Burdwan     | West Bengal    | III    | Jodhpur     | Rajasthan      | II     |
| Cailcut     | Kerala         | III    | Jorhat      | Assam          | V      |
| Chandigarh  | Chandigarh     | IV     | Kakrapara   | Gujarat        | III    |
| Chennai     | Tamil Nadu     | III    | Kalapakkam  | Tamil Nadu     | III    |
| Kanchipuram | Tamil Nadu     | III    | Pondicherry | Pondicherry    | II     |

## Annexure-I

| Kanpur          | Utter Pradesh     | III   | Pune                | Maharastha        | III   |
|-----------------|-------------------|-------|---------------------|-------------------|-------|
| Karwar          | Karnataka         | III   | Raipur              | Chattisgarh       | II    |
| Kohima          | Nagaland          | V     | Rajkot              | Gujarat           | III   |
| Kolkata         | West Bengal       | III   | Ranchi              | Chattisgarh       | II    |
| Kota            | Rajasthan         | II    | Roorkee             | Uttrakhand        | IV    |
| Kurnool         | Andhra Pradesh    | II    | Rourkela            | Orissa            | II    |
| Lucknow         | Utter Pradesh     | III   | Sadiya              | Assam             | V     |
| Ludhiyana       | Punjab            | IV    | Salem               | Tamil Nadu        | III   |
| Madurai         | Tamil Nadu        | II    | Simla               | Himanchal Pradesh | IV    |
| Mandi           | Himanchal Pradesh | V     | Sironj              | Madhya Pradesh    | II    |
| Mangalore       | Karnataka         | III   | Solapur             | Maharastha        | III   |
| Monghyr         | Bihar             | IV    | Srinagar            | Jammu & Kashmir   | V     |
| Moradabad       | Utter Pradesh     | IV    | Surat               | Gujarat           | III   |
| Mumbai          | Maharastha        | III   | Tarapur             | Maharastha        | III   |
| Mysore          | Karnataka         | II    | Tezpur              | Assam             | V     |
| Nagpur          | Maharastha        | II    | Thane               | Maharastha        | III   |
| Nagarjunasag ar | Andhra Pradesh    | II    | Thanjavur           | Tamil Nadu        | II    |
| Nainital        | Uttrakhand        | IV    | Thiruvananth apuram | Kerala            | III   |
| Nasik           | Maharastha        | III   | Tiruchirappal i     | Tamil Nadu        | II    |
| Nellore         | Andhra Pradesh    | III   | Tiruvennamal ai     | Tamil Nadu        | III   |
| Osmanabad       | Maharastha        | III   | Udaipur             | Rajasthan         | II    |
| Panjim          | Goa               | III   | Vadodara            | Gujarat           | III   |
| Patiala         | Punjab            | III   | Varanasi            | Utter Pradesh     | III   |
| Patna           | Bihar             | IV    | Vellore             | Andhra Pradesh    | III   |
| Pilibhit        | Uttrakhand        | IV    | Vijayawada          | Andhra Pradesh    | III   |
|                 |                   |       | Vishakhapatn am     | Andhra Pradesh    | II    |