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These are most earthquake-prone cities in India. Check list
While Turkey’s Anatolian plate makes it one of the most earthquake-prone zones in the world, in the Indian subcontinent, the entire Himalayan belt is also considered prone to great earthquakes of magnitude exceeding 8.0.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Turkey, Syria which occurred on Monday following a 100-km rupture between the Anatolian and Arabian plates put much spotlight on matters concerning international preparedness on risk management during such disasters, research and development funds, knowledge gaps among other things as the world witnesses the devastating impact of the quake in that has killed nearly 8,000 people so far.
While Turkey’s Anatolian plate makes it one of the most earthquake-prone zones in the world, in the Indian subcontinent, the entire Himalayan belt is also considered prone to great earthquakes of magnitude exceeding 8.0, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) explained.
Also Read| Turkey, Syria earthquake: Video of 7-yr-old girl shielding sibling under rubble goes viral
As much as 59% of India’s land mass is prone to earthquakes of different intensities. As per the seismic zoning map, the country is divided into four seismic zones in which zone V is the most vulnerable while zone II is the least. Nearly 11% of the country falls in zone V, while 18% in zone IV, 30% in zone III and remaining in zone II.
As per a 2021 government report on seismic mapping of India, these Indian cities lie in the highest seismic zone V:
| Bhuj, Gujarat |
| Darbhanga, Bihar |
| Guwahati, Assam |
| Imphal, Manipur |
| Jorhat, Assam |
| Kohima, Nagaland |
| Mandi, Himachal Pradesh |
| Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar |
| Sadiya, Assam |
| Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir |
| Tezpur, Assam |
The National Centre for Seismology under the ministry of Earth sciences is India’s nodal agency for monitoring seismic activity, having 115 observatories spread across the country, the report said. The seismic micronisation of the cities is based on factors such as population to mitigate the earthquake impact better.
