ISR prepares district-level earthquake hazard map for Gujarat

The Instituteof Seismological Research (ISR), a state agency, has come out with an 'earthquake hazard map' of Gujarat, which provides information about how intense the ground movement can be if earthquake hits a particular place.

It can help town planners and architects take necessary precautions to mitigate the impact of a possible earthquake, ISR officials said.

To prepare the map, the ISR took into account data of seismic activities in Gujarat from as back as 1668.

It plans to bring out the map in a coffee-table book format, said Ravi Kumar, Director General of the ISR.

"We have developed the map for all 33 districts. It shows ground acceleration to be experienced in different parts of the state. It can come in handy for town planners to assess possible intensity of an earthquake," Kumar said.

As per the map, Bhuj and the Rann of Kutch in Kutch district are highly active seismic zones, and are expected to experience the highest degree of ground motion in the state.

Kutch region, especially the Bhuj town, had experienced a devastating earthquake in 2001 which claimed more than 10,000 lives.

The areas of Saurashtra which are close to Kutch are also likely to experience high levels of ground motion, but not as much as in Kutch, the map shows.

Certain areas of Banaskantha, Patan, Morbi and Surendranagar are likely to experience relatively less ground motion compared to Kutch, but higher than rest of the state.

Areas in Surat and Navsari districts in south Gujarat could experience more ground motion compared to other areas, while districts in eastern part of the state, which cover most of the tribal belt, are likely to experience the least ground motion in the state in the event of an earthquake.

The map was designed taking into account tectonic features and data of seismological activity recorded in the state between 1668 and 2016, says ISR scientist Madan Mohan Rout.

Historical documents and earthquake catalogues provided by the India Meteorological Department, National Earthquake Information Centre, International Seismological Centre and other agencies were also used to make the map.

The map is crucial for Gujarat which has a high level of industrialisation and where a number of smart cities and mega-cities are coming up, Rout said.