The countries of Turkey and Syria were devastated by natural disasters.  This extremely powerful earthquake left a lot of damage and tragedy.  A month ago, earthquakes caused concern in some parts of India, including Delhi.  Is there a threat of earthquakes to India in the wake of Turkey’s disaster?  Which areas are at risk?  That has now become a topic of discussion.

    According to central government statistics, about 59 percent of the land in all the states in the country is prone to earthquakes.  The main reason for the occurrence of earthquakes in our country is that the Indian plaque(plate )is penetrating into the Asian plaque( plate) at a rate of 47 mm per year.  Based on the past earthquakes, the regions of the country are classified into four seismic zones.  They are zone 2, zone 3, zone 4, zone 5. Among them, zone 5 is the area where the earthquake effect is high.  Zone 2 is termed as low intensity area.  11 percent of the land in earthquake prone areas is in zone 5, the most severe.  In 2021, Union Geology Minister Jitendra Singh revealed in the Parliament that 18 percent of the land in Zone 4, 30 percent of the land in Zone 3, and 41 percent of the land in Zone 2.

 “” Zone 5 :—-

 This is the zone where the threat of earthquakes is highest.  Kashmir, Western and Central Himalayas, North Bihar, Central Bihar, Northeast India, Rann of Kutch, Andaman and Nicobar Islands come under this zone.  This is known as very high damage risk zone.

“””Zone 4::—–

 This is a high damage risk zone.  Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, North Punjab, Chandigarh, West Uttar Pradesh, mainland of Bihar, North Bengal and Sundarbans, including the national capital Delhi are included in this zone.

 “””Zone 3::—— This is a medium impact zone. Major cities like Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar fall under this zone.

 “”” Zone 2::——-

 This is a low intensity zone.  The chances of earthquake in these areas are very less.  Tiruchirappalli, Bulandshahar, Moradabad, Gorakhpur, some parts of Chandigarh and southern territories are in this zone.

 “”” Zone 1::—-

 Currently, the term ‘Zone 1’ is not used in the revised classification of earthquake hazard zones.  Hence no area is marked as zone 1. India also experiences very powerful earthquakes.  The 2001 Bhuj earthquake and the 1993 Latur earthquake claimed thousands of lives.  However, governments are implementing earthquake proof building policy in our country.  Usually, earthquakes cause buildings to collapse and cause high casualties.  This method is useful to avoid it.  While constructing buildings and other infrastructural facilities certain guidelines laid down by the government have to be followed.  There is also a list of Indian standards for earthquake resistant construction.  It gives instructions on design of structures, repair and strengthening of buildings.  However.. it is impossible to predict the exact timing of natural calamities.  Therefore, experts say that during such calamities, it is necessary to prepare well in advance to avoid severe damage.

 —- M Venkata T Reddy, News Editor, MP Jankranti News,