Indian cities that are in high risk earthquakes: Check if your city is prone to seismic zones?

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New Delhi, Feb 07: Monday's massive earthquake and multiple aftershocks that struck Turkey and Syria, resulted in a huge loss to life and property, but a question that comes to mind is - how prone are Indian cities to earthquakes?

According to weather agency Skymet, nearly 59% area of the land in India is prone to earthquakes. India is divided into four seismic zones, namely, zone 2, zone 3, zone 4 and zone 5. Out of these zones, zone 5 is the most prone to earthquakes whereas, zone 2 has the lowest seismic levels.

Final result is that only seven cities have low level risk, whereas 30 cities have medium level risk and 13 cities have high level risk.

The following areas in India are considered as high-risk seismic zones:

• The north-western part of the Himalayas, including parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
• The north-eastern part of India, including parts of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya.
• The western part of the Satpura range, including parts of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.
• The Rann of Kutch in Gujarat.
• The Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

It is noteworthy that, the Delhi-NCR is close to the Himalayas, which was formed by the mixing of tectonic plates. Due to movements in these plates, areas like Delh-NCR, Kanpur and Lucknow, are most prone to earthquakes.

The Delhi-NCR is located in the fourth-highest seismic zone out of the five classified by the Bureau of Indian Standards. A quake of high intensity can't be ruled out. Such a quake would wreak havoc.

Experts say Gurugram is the riskiest area in Delhi-NCR as it is situated on seven fault lines. If these get active, a quake of high intensity is imminent. Such a quake would wreak havoc.

It is important for people living in these areas to take necessary precautions and prepare for potential earthquakes.