Seismic Mapping of earthquake zones in India

Contact Counsellor

Last Updated01/08/2021

Considering the recorded history of earthquakes in the country, a total of ~59% of the landmass of India (covering all states of India) is prone to earthquakes of different intensities.
National Centre for Seismology under the Ministry of Earth Sciences is the nodal agency of the Government of India (GoI), for monitoring earthquakes in and around the country.
The zones are divided on the basis of Modified Mercalli (MM) intensity, which measures the impact of earthquakes.

Seismic Mapping of earthquake zones:

Seismic Zonation map of the country (state-wise) given by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has categorised into several seismic zones (Zone II to Zone V) with variability of peak ground acceleration (PGA) (0.16g to > 0.36g) with of 10% of exceedance in PGA in 50-years.
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.
According to this map the state of West-Bengal falls under Zone IV, III and II.
Larger portion of West-Bengal state lies in Zone III.
For the state of Uttar-Pradesh the state lies in Zone IV, III and II.

The seismic zones of the entire country are classified based upon the empirical seismic attenuation law with respect to the maximum credible earthquake source zone located in the vicinity of the area under study.
It has further corroborated with historical seismicity and ground motions of the earthquakes observed in various parts of the country in past.
Seismic Microzonation of 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.

Parts of Jammu and Kashmir (Kashmir valley); Western part of Himachal Pradesh; Eastern part of Uttarakhand, Kutch in Gujarat; part of Northern Bihar; all northeastern states of India and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Ladakh; Remaining parts of Jammu & Kashmir, 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.

Kerala; Goa; Lakshadweep islands; parts of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana; remaining parts of Gujarat and Punjab; parts of West Bengal, western Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh; remaining part of Bihar; northern parts of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh; parts of Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamilnadu and Karnataka.

Remaining parts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamilnadu.

NCS maintains a National Seismological Network (NSN) consisting of 115 observatories for monitoring earthquakes in and around the country.
The information of earthquakes reported by NCS is being disseminated to the concerned central and state disaster authorities in least possible time to initiate the adequate mitigation measures.
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Indiais 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.
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.

The modified Mercalli intensity scale, developed from Giuseppe Mercalli's Mercalli intensity scale of 1902, is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake.
It measures the effects of an earthquake at a given location, distinguished from the earthquake's inherent force or strength as measured by seismic magnitude scales.