Question : EARTHQUAKE PRONE AREAS



(a) the criteria for fixing different zones for evaluating earthquake prone areas;and

(b) the zone in which the areas comprising of Mullaperiyar Dam near to the boundary of Kerala and Tamil Nadu falls?

Answer given by the minister


MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND MINISTER OF EARTH SCIENCES(SHRI KAPIL SIBAL)

a) Bureau of Indian Standards [IS-1893 (Part-1): 2002], based on various scientific inputs, like History of past earthquakes, tectonic features, lithology etc., from a number of agencies, has grouped the country into four seismic zones viz. Zone-II, -III. -IV and -V (Enclosurc-l). Of these, Zone V is the most seismic-ally active region, while zone II is the least. The Modified Mercalli (MM) intensity (Enclosure-2), which measures the impact of the earthquakes on the surface of the earth, broadly associated with various zones is as follows:

Seismic Zone	Intensity on MM scale
II(Low intensity zone)	VI (or less)
III(Moderate intensity zone)	VII
IV(Severe intensity zone)	VIII
V(Very severe intensity zone)	IX (and above)

b) Areas comprising of Mullaperiyar Dam near to the boundary of Kerala and Tamil Nadu fall in Seismic Zone III.