Seismic Hazard in India - Practical Aspects and Initiatives During IYPE

Abstract

The Indian subcontinent characterizes a continent-continent collision boundary in the north viz., Himalaya, subduction zone tectonics in the east, i.e., the Indo-Burmese arc extending through Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the Sunda trench in the south and rifted/non-rifted interiors of the Indian plate i.e., the Indian Peninsular shield. All these tectonic units are sources of damaging earthquakes capable of causing loss to property and human lives. A few recent examples are the Bhuj earthquake of 2001, Jabalpur in 1997 and Latur in 1993, all occurring in the Indian shield region and claiming more than 30,000 lives, collectively. Similarly, in the Himalaya, Muzaffarabad earthquake in 2005, Chamoli in 1999 and Uttarkashi in 1991 caused heavy casualties and severe damage to property. The 2004 Sumatra earthquake in the Sunda trench ruptured a 1,200 km long fault up to the north Andaman and generated an unprecedented tsunami in the Indian ocean that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the south-Asian region. Thus, strategies for the assessment of seismic hazard and mitigation efforts in these regions of varied tectonics require suitable practical solutions. This paper provide glimpses of the initiatives taken in the study of seismic hazard in the country and the activities during the IYPE.