Seismic Microzonation Study to Generate Risk Resilient Parameters

Natural disasters are triggered by natural processes and not always affected by the human consequences. However, vulnerability of any region is always affected by non-engineered structures. Thus, there is a need to devise the proper mitigation strategies by adopting scientific and engineering solutions to reduce the associated risks.

Seismic Microzonation study is important as it helps to generate inputs for constructing earthquake risk resilient buildings/infrastructures/dwellings to reduce and mitigate the impacts of earthquake shaking and for minimising the damages to structures and loss of lives for safer urban planning.

The National Centre for Seismology (NCS), an attached office of the Ministry of Earth Sciences and nodal agency of Government of India for earthquake monitoring in the country, maintains the National Seismological Network comprising of 152 observatories presently, located throughout the country for monitoring of seismic activity in and around the country, with detection capability down to magnitude 3.0 for most part of the country. The Centre is planning to establish 100 more new observatories in the next 2 to 3 years to further enhance seismic monitoring capabilities in the country.

This information was given by the Minister for State (Independent Charge) for Ministry of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.