Earthquake in India : Recently Taiwan came across as strongest earthquake in 25 years. Taiwan lost 9 lives to a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, thanks to due to sustained efforts by the Taiwan government after and it just killed 9 people. Last time in the year., 1999, a 7.4 earthquake killed 2400 people and injured more than 10,000. We can not change the topography of land but other complimentary factors can reduce the the magnitude of loss. India has prepared Earthquake Disaster Risk Index of major Indian cities to measure and rank the cities in term of disaster. Let’s find out how
- How many earthquake occurs in the World ?
- How many Earthquake occurs in India ?
- Why India Created Earthquake Disaster Risk Index ?
- Methodology of Earthquake Disaster Risk Index (EDRI)
- How were the cities selected in the survey?
- Bhuj is the one of earthquake safe cities in India
- India’s Capital Delhi has Moderate threat
- Aizawl is most in danger, know the names of remaining 12 cities
How many earthquake occurs in the World ?
According to the National Earthquake Information Center of America, there are 55 earthquakes every day and about 20,000 earthquakes in a year all over the world.
How many Earthquake occurs in India ?
On an average, Four earthquakes occur every day in India. Every month 120 earthquakes occur in the country, 11 percent of which are more than 5 on the Richter scale.On an average, 120 small and big earthquakes occur every month in India and its neighboring parts. Most of these are below 4.9 on the Richter scale.
Why India Created Earthquake Disaster Risk Index
About 59 percent of India’s area is at risk of moderate to heavy earthquakes. Recently, these major earthquakes include Manipur (2016), Nepal (2015), Sikkim (2011), Kashmir (2005), Bhuj (2001), Chamoli (1999), Jabalpur (1997) and Latur (1993). Studies of earthquakes have shown that all types of buildings suffer damage if they are not designed earthquake resistant. Not only this, in the previous earthquakes in India, more than 90% of the people died only due to the collapse of buildings. For this reason, to assess its threat to Indian cities, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and IIT Hyderabad had released the for 50 cities of the country in the year 2019.
Methodology of Earthquake Disaster Risk Index (EDRI)
In the Earthquake Disaster Risk Index, the danger to a city is assessed on three scales. First, what is the type of topography of that particular area. Secondly, how many people and buildings are present in that area, this is technically called Exposure. The third factor is Vulnerability that is the current condition of the building. Through this index, the risk of loss of life and property in a city in the event of an earthquake is estimated.
How were the cities selected in the survey?
50 cities of the country were selected in the survey. Of these, 15 cities were in seismic zone 5, 20 cities were in zone 4, the remaining 7 are metropolitan cities. Although some metros also fall in Seismic Zone 3, they were included considering their population density and the danger of tall buildings.
Curiously, Bhuj is the one of safest cities in India
Among the 50 cities included in the survey, Dehradun, Siliguri, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Bhuj have the least risk of loss of life and property during earthquake. Among these, except Bhuj, all the cities fall in Seismic Zone 4. Bhuj falls in seismic zone 5. Bhuj has faced the horrors of earthquake in the year 2001. Now this city has improved its preparations to deal with the threat of earthquake.
India's Capital Delhi has Moderate threat along with 31 other cities
According to EDRI, 32 cities in India faces moderate level of threat to life and property after the earthquake. Most of these cities fall in seismic zones 4 and 5. However, due to dense population. many metropolitan cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai are included in this list despite being geographically in Seismic Zone 3.Moreover, cities named Shillong, Kohima, Patna, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Dispur, Faridabad, Meerut, Ahmedabad, Itanagar, Guwahati, Mandi, Chamoli, Alwar, Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida), Bareilly, Darbhanga, Agartala, Panchkula, Jalandhar, Mathura, Jammu, Darjeeling, Port Blair, Imphal, Chandigarh and Jamnagar are also part of the list.
Aizawl is most unsafe, know the names of remaining 12 cities
Vijayawada city of Andhra Pradesh, despite being in Seismic Zone 3, is one most vulnerable city. Vijayawada is the only metropolitan city of the country included in this list. There are 12 more cities which are considered most unsafe. This list includes Aizawl, Shimla, Panipat, Ratnagiri, Gangtok, Moradabad, Pithoragarh, Nainital, Vijayawada, Srinagar, Bhagalpur, Solan, Uttarkashi. Most of the cities in the list fall in seismic zones 4 and 5.