Lok Sabha Question No. 2494 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-21
Subject: Earthquake Prone Zones
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: Ghanshyam Singh Lodhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES LOKSABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  2494 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 21 st  DECEMBER, 2022

## EARTHQUAKE PRONE ZONES

## † 2494. SHRI GHANSHYAM SINGH LODHI:

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the earthquake prone zones/sections in the country;
- (b) whether any study of earthquakes has been conducted by the Government in the said zones/sections during the last five years, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the earth's temperature has been rising continuously;
- (d) if  so,  whether  any  assessment  of  the  potential  effects  of  temperature  rise  on  human beings has been carried out by the Government;
- (e) if so, the details thereof;
- (f) whether  it  is  forecasted  that  a  massive  destructive  earthquake  is  likely  to  hit  the Himalayan region; and
- (g) if so, the extensive preparations of the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

- (a) The whole country has been divided into four zones viz. zone V, IV, III and II according to  the  seismic  zoning  map  of  India  prepared  by  Bureau  of  Indian  Standards  (BIS).  A total  of  ~59%  of  the  land  mass  of  India  (covering  all  states  of  India)  is  prone  to earthquakes  of  different  shaking  intensities.  As  per  the  seismic  zoning  map  of  the country, the total  area  is  classified  into  four  seismic  zones.  Zone  V  is  seismically  the most active region, while zone II is the least. Approximately, ~ 11% area of the country falls in zone V, ~18% in zone IV, ~ 30% in zone III and remaining in zone II.

Details  of  states  and  areas  in  the  country  falling  in  different  seismic  zones  (based  on seismic zoning map of India) are given below:

- Zone V Parts  of  Jammu  and  Kashmir  (Kashmir  valley),  western  part  of  Himachal Pradesh,  Eastern  part  of  Uttarakhand,  Rann  of  Kutch  in  Gujarat,  part  of Northern  Bihar,  all  northeastern  states  of  India  and  Andaman  &  Nicobar Islands
- Zone IV remaining parts of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, remaining part of Himachal Pradesh  and  Uttarakhand,  Some  parts  of  Haryana,  Parts  of  Punjab,  Delhi, Sikkim,  northern  part  of  Uttar  Pradesh,  small  portions  of  Bihar  and  West Bengal, parts of Gujarat and small portions of Maharashtra near the west coast and small part of western Rajasthan
- Zone III Kerala, Goa, Lakshadweep islands, some parts of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, remaining  parts  of  Gujarat  and  Punjab,  some  part  of  West  Bengal,  part  of western Rajasthan, part of Madhya Pradesh, remaining part of Bihar, northern parts  of  Jharkhand  and  Chhattisgarh,  parts  of  Maharashtra,  parts  of  Odisha, parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Parts of Tamilnadu and Karnataka.
- Zone II remaining  Parts  of  Rajasthan  and  Haryana,  remaining  parts  of  Madhya Pradesh  and  Maharashtra,  remaining  parts  of  Odisha  and  Andhra  Pradesh, remaining parts of Telangana and Karnataka, remaining parts of Tamilnadu.
- (b) Yes, Sir. National Centre for Seismology (NCS) under Ministry of Earth Sciences is the nodal agency of Government of India (GoI), for monitoring earthquakes in and around the  country.  For  this  purpose,  NCS  maintains  a  National  Seismological  Network consisting of 152 observatories spread across the country. The information of earthquakes reported by NCS is disseminated to the concerned central and state disaster authorities in least possible time to initiate the adequate mitigation measures through its website and other social media platforms. The detailed information of the earthquakes is also available on the website of NCS (seismo.gov.in). Apart from extensive research by NCS,  earthquake  data  acquired by the centre are also available for  conducting seismological research for addressing various issues of earthquake generating processes by different research and academic organisations of the country. The major outcome of these studies provides  a deep  insight into the earthquake  processes  and  related parameters to assess the seismic hazards of the country.

Secondly,  Seismic  Microzonation  of  important  cities  in  India  having  population  of  5 Lakh and above is also considered. The purpose is to generate inputs  for constructing earthquake  risk  resilient  buildings/structures  to  reduce  and  mitigate  the  impacts  of earthquake shaking and  for minimising the damages to structures and loss of  lives  for safer  urban  planning.  Seismic  Microzonation  work  started  with  Microzonation  of Jabalpur and subsequently  it has  been completed for a few  more areas like Guwahati, Bangalore, Sikkim, Ahmedabad, Gandhidham- Kandla. Seismic Microzonation of Delhi and Kolkata has comprehensive data sets.

Seismic  Microzonation  of  12  cities  (Coimbatore,  Chennai,  Bhubaneswar,  Mangalore, Agra, Amritsar, Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Patna, Dhanbad and Meerut), is carried out in phased manner by NCS and reports for these cities are to be released on completion of the compilation of entire dataset and interpretation of the processed data for each city.

- (c)-(e)  Yes  Sir,  The  Earth's  temperature  has  increased  in  the  range  of  ~0.9  to  ~1.1  degrees Celsius  over  the  past  ~150  years  on  average,  concomitant with  increase  in  surface  air temperatures as a result of climatic warming.  This information, obtained from temperature measurements in boreholes distributed in different climatic provinces in the country,  is  complementary  to  the  primary  information  obtained  from  meteorological stations  operated  by  the  India  Meteorological  Department.However, Ministry of Earth Sciences has not carried out any assessment of the effects oftemperature-rise on human beings.
- (f) The Himalayan belt is considered as one of the most seismically active intra-continental regions  of  the  world.  This  region  has  witnessed  several  moderate  to  great  magnitude earthquakes  and  a  few  very  great  (M>8.0)  earthquakes  along  its  about  2400  km  long belt.  The  seismicity  in  this  region  is  mainly  attributed  to  the  Main  Himalayan  Thrust along  which  Indian  plate  under  thrusts  beneath  the  Himalayan  wedge.  The  prominent earthquakes  in  this  region  are  1897Shillong  Plateau  (M:8.1),  1905Kangra  (M:7.8), 1934Bihar-Nepal  Border  (M:8.3),  Arunanchal-China  border  1950(M:8.5),  2015  Nepal Earthquake (M:7.9). Scientists have indicated that strain accumulation for the earthquake occurrence  is currently going on  along the Main Himalayan Thrust, where great earthquakes are expected to occur.
- (g) National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of India is engaged with conducting regular awareness campaigns every year through print, electronic as well as social media from  time  to  time  to  sensitize  programs  on  prevention  and  preparedness  for  building safety from earthquakes.

Besides that, Government of India is poised to follow guidelines by the Bureau of Indian Standards  (BIS),  Building  Materials  &  Technology  Promotion  Council  (BMTPC)  and Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) etc. for design and construction  of  earthquake  risk  resistant  structures  to  minimize  the  loss  of  life  and damage  to  property  caused  by  earthquakes.  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.

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