On the basis of the intensities or the destructiveness of the
earthquakes a map of India has been published by the Meteorological
Department in collaboration of the Indian Standard Institution. The map
shows the five seismic zones based on modified Mercalli Scale.
Zone I - Intensity V or below (instrumental, feeble, slight, moderate rather strong)
Zone II - Intensity VI (Strong)
Zone III - Intensity VII (Very Strong)
Zone IV - Intensity VIII (destructive) Zone
V - Intensity more than VIII (disastrous, catastrophic)
Zone I:
Comprises some areas of Punjab and Haryana, plains of Uttar Pradesh,
Coastal plains of Maharashtra and Kerala, certain parts of the plains of
Bihar and West Bengal, certain areas in Rajasthan and major part of
Gujarat except Kutch.
Zone II:
Includes southern Punjab and Haryana, certain parts of the plains of
Uttar Pradesh, eastern Rajasthan, coastal areas of Orissa and Tamilnadu.
This is the low damage risk zone.
Zone III:
Covers southern and Southeastern parts of Rajasthan, larger parts of
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Jharkhand and northern and
northwestern part of Orissa.
Zone IV:
Represents areas where there is high damage risk by destructive
earthquakes. This zone comprises the State of Jarnmu and Kashmir,
Himachal Pradesh, northern part of Punjab and Haryana, Delhi, eastern
Uttar Pradesh, tarai and bhabar regions, the Himalayan areas of
Uttaranchal, Bihar and Sikkim.
Zone V:
Represents areas of the most destructive and catastrophic earthquakes
where there is extremely high damage risk. The following areas fall
into this zone: certain parts of Jammu and Kashmir, parts of Himachal
Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Monghyr and Darbhanga districts of Bihar, northern
part of India and Kutch region of Gujarat.
This map gives the most generalised picture about the intensities of
earthquakes occurring in different zones. There are, it is true, some
very strong exceptions. Calcutta earthquake of 1737, which killed about
300,000 people offers as typical example.
As shown in the map of the earthquake prone zones of India, Calcutta
is located in a zone where normally there is little chance of very
destructive earthquakes.
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