Lok Sabha Question No. 3288 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-12
Subject: Earthquake Prone Regions
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: Pankaj Chowdhary

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3288 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, JULY 12, 2019

## EARTHQUAKE PRONE REGIONS

## 3288. SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY:

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of earthquake prone regions in the country along  with  the  number  of  earthquakes  that  occurred  in  the country during the last three years, State/UT-wise;
- (b) whether  scientists  have  studied  the  phenomenon  of  nonrelease  of  earthquake  energy  during  earthquakes,  if  so,  the details thereof;
- (c) whether  scientists  have  suspected  the  occurrence  of  major earthquakes  due  to  the  said  reason  and  if  so,  the  details thereof; and
- (d) whether the Government is likely to make disaster management more effective  and  strong  in  earthquake  prone areas, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

- (a) To  demarcate  the  earthquake  prone  zones,  Bureau  of  Indian Standards [IS-1893 (Part-1): 2002], based on scientific inputs like past intensity records and ground motions from a number of agencies, has grouped the country into four seismic zones viz.  Zone-II,  III,  IV  and  V.  Of  these,  Zone  V  is  the  most seismically active region, while zone II is the least.

The  State-wise  details  of  earthquake  prone  regions  in  the country  on  the  basis  of  seismic  zonation  map  is  provided below:

- Zone V Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal

Pradesh, Uttarakhand,  Rann  of  Kutch  in  Gujarat,  part  of North Bihar and Andaman & Nicobar islands.

- Zone IV remaining  parts  of  Jammu  &  Kashmir,  Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Union Territory of Delhi, Sikkim,  northern part of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal,  parts  of  Gujarat  and  small  portions of Maharashtra near the west coast and Rajasthan.
- Zone III Kerala, Goa, Lakshadweep islands, remaining parts of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and West Bengal, parts of Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Maharashtra, Orissa,  Andhra  Pradesh,  Telangana,  Tamilnadu and Karnataka.
- Zone II Parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra,  Parts  of  Odisha,  Andhra  Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala.

The  number  of  earthquakes  that  occurred  in  the  country during the last three years (July 16 to June 19), State/UT-wise are given in Annexure I.

- (b) & (c) Studies by the scientists  show  that  the  main  cause  of earthquakes in Indian regions are due to Indian plate motion towards northeast direction at a rate of about 52 mm/year and its  collision  with  Eurasian  plate  in  the  north  and  with  Sunda plate in the east. The relative convergence of 14-20 mm/year in the Himalaya causes strain accumulation, which is released episodically during the earthquakes. The strain accumulation is faster in the collision plate boundaries as compared to the stable continent regions. Based on the studies related to the strain accumulation and crustal deformation, the occurrences of  major earthquakes in Himalayan regions are suspected by scientists.

Ministry of Earth Sciences has given many projects to various institutes in the country to study the earthquake processes.

- (d) As  a  part  of  its  mandate,  National  Disaster  Management Agency  (NDMA)  laid  down  the  National  Policy  on  Disaster Management  (NPDM)  in  2009  which  is  applicable  for  all disasters  including  earthquake.  It  portrays  a  paradigm  shift from  erstwhile  'Response-Centric'  approach  to  the  holistic management of disasters with emphasis on Prevention, Preparedness  and  Mitigation.  Other  details  are  enclosed  at Annexure II.

## Annexure I

| States                        |   2016 |   2017 |   2018 |   2019 |
|-------------------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands   |     23 |     44 |     38 |     58 |
| Andhra Pradesh                |      0 |      0 |      1 |      0 |
| Arunachal Pradesh             |     10 |     18 |      7 |      2 |
| Assam                         |     20 |     26 |     18 |      4 |
| Bihar                         |      0 |      1 |      0 |      0 |
| Chandigarh                    |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| Chhattisgarh                  |      0 |      0 |      1 |      1 |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli        |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| Daman and Diu                 |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| Goa                           |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| Gujarat                       |      4 |     11 |      5 |      1 |
| Haryana                       |      6 |     28 |      8 |      3 |
| Himachal Pradesh              |     18 |     23 |     18 |     10 |
| Jammu and Kashmir             |      5 |     15 |     19 |      7 |
| Jharkhand                     |      0 |      1 |      1 |      1 |
| Karnataka                     |      0 |      1 |      0 |      0 |
| Kerala                        |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| Lakshadweep                   |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| Madhya Pradesh                |      1 |      0 |      2 |      0 |
| Maharashtra                   |      3 |     10 |     20 |     31 |
| Manipur                       |     16 |     22 |     13 |      8 |
| Meghalaya                     |      5 |      9 |      6 |      3 |
| Mizoram                       |      1 |      3 |      2 |      1 |
| Nagaland                      |      3 |      3 |      1 |      0 |
| National Capital Territory of |      0 |      4 |      1 |      0 |
| Delhi Odisha                  |      0 |      1 |      2 |      2 |
| Puducherry                    |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| Punjab                        |      1 |      0 |      1 |      0 |
| Rajasthan                     |      3 |      7 |      3 |      2 |
| Sikkim                        |      1 |      5 |      1 |      3 |
| Tamil Nadu                    |      0 |      1 |      0 |      0 |
| Telangana                     |      0 |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| Tripura                       |      0 |      7 |      0 |      0 |
| Uttar Pradesh                 |      2 |      2 |      2 |      1 |
| Uttarakhand                   |     13 |     17 |      9 |      9 |
| West Bengal                   |      2 |      2 |      1 |      1 |

1. National  Disaster  Management  Plan  (NDMP)  was  released  in  June, 2016  to  assist  all  stakeholders  including  State  Governments  in disaster risk management of various hazards including earthquakes. The Plan also provides a framework and direction to the government agencies  including  State  Government  agencies  for  all  phases  of disaster management  i.e. prevention, mitigation, response and recovery.
2. National Disaster Management Authority has also issued the guidelines (i) 'National Disaster Management Guidelines -Management of Earthquakes' and (ii) 'National Disaster Management Guidelines -Seismic Retrofitting of Deficient Buildings and Structures' for management of disaster risks due to earthquakes and to minimize the damage due to earthquakes of high density.
3. Sustainable Reduction in Disaster Risk (SRDR): NDMA is implementing the project with the aim to strengthen community and local self-government's preparedness and response in 10 most multihazard vulnerable districts, 2 each in 5 identified states i.e. Assam, Bihar,  Himachal  Pradesh,  Jammu  and  Kashmir  and  Uttarakhand. Some of outcomes envisaged under the project include Comprehensive  Disaster  Risk  Reduction/Recovery  Plan  for  each district;  awareness  &  publicity  campaigns  throughout  the  selected district; preparation of training modules in community based disaster management;  formation  of  disaster  management  teams  at  district levels;  training  of  Trainers/Stakeholders  on  CBDM  and  conduct  of mock drills in these selected districts.
4. National  School  Safety  Programme  (NSSP):NDMA  implemented  the 'National  School  Safety  Programme  (NSSP)'  in  8600  schools  in  43 districts spread over 22 States/UTs of the country falling in seismic zone  IV  &  V  with  the  aim  to  sensitize  children  and  the  school community on disaster preparedness and safety measures.
5. NDMA  regularly conducts Mock  Exercises for various hazards including  Earthquake  to  sensitize  all  the  stakeholders  regarding preventive  and  mitigation  measures  as  well  as  test  the  efficacy  of disaster management plans.  Till date 808 Mock Exercises including Earthquake  have  been  conducted  throughout  the  country  including Earthquake prone areas.
6. NDMA also runs  a  scheme  i.e  Financial  Support  to  States/  UTs  for conducting  State/  Distt/  UT  Level  Mock  Exercises  under  which  Rs. One Lakh per Mock Exercise is released to the States.