| Gujarat State is one of the most earthquake prone regions in the country from ancient age. In January 2001, an earthquake with magnitude of 7.6 struck the Kutch region and around, Gujarat State. More than 13,800 people lost their lives and about 170,000 suffered injuries. The deaths were mostly caused by the building and houses collapse. For establishing the proper disaster management plan to mitigate future earthquake disasters, seismic hazard maps and vulnerability and damage assessment maps are expected to be one of the most important tools. |
| As per international norms, it is indispensable for determining the disaster scenario in order to identify the location where the disaster management resources have to be concentrated or prioritized. The Government of Gujarat therefore conducted a Feasibility Study on conducting actual Seismic Microzonation all over the State. Seismic Microzonation is a study of seismically active zones to find out the suitability of the zone for the habitation, constriction of building, creation of infrastructure etc. The objective of “Seismic Microzonation” or “Seismic Hazard and Risk Assessment” study is to assess the natural hazard and consequent risk due to the earthquake quantitatively. |
| Seismic Microzonation is the first and most important step towards a seismic risk analysis and mitigation strategy in densely populated regions. The output of this study could be used for planning and carrying out the detailed microzonation exercise for management and mitigation of the seismic disaster and damage in the area. The study recommended prioritized areas of the State for conducting seismic hazard and risk assessment. The areas that were suggested by the study to have the highest priority for seismic microzonation in Gujarat are Gandhidham, South of Bhachau, Maliya, Morvi and Anjar. |