Earthquakes in India: An Overview | Original Article

ABSTRACT:

Several parts of the Indian subcontinent, especially the Himalayas, are well known to be seismic, but data on earthquake prior to the colonial period are scarce. Needless to say that such data is essential for reliable seismic hazard estimation. Recent earthquake of Uttarkashi, Killari, Jabalpur, Chamoli, Bhuj and Sikkim underline the need for collecting information about earthquake in the historic past. The present work is a significant effort in this direction. India has a very high frequency of moderate and high intensity earthquakes (magnitude 6 to 8) for instance, during 1967 to 2015, the country was hit by many earthquakes. Moderate earthquakes create awareness and lead to improvements in construction at a low human cost. An earthquake of more than VIII or IX intensity in the last 40 years has not recorded. Sikkim earthquake (2011) has led to complacence in our earthquake preparedness. We have now higher levels of man-made construction and a significantly larger population than what we had at the time of great earthquakes of 1897, 1934, or 1950 hence, we are much more vulnerable to earthquake disasters.