The frequency of earthquakes appears to have increased in the Indian subcontinent. However, India's…

Question

The frequency of earthquakes appears to have increased in the Indian subcontinent. However, India's preparedness for mitigating their impact has significant gaps. Discuss various aspects.

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

Earthquakes appear more frequent because detection has improved, Himalayan strain is building and exposure is rising, while India's preparedness lags on building codes, lifelines, microzonation and last-mile response. Seismic observatories rose from 80 in 2014 to 168 by February 2025, yet most houses remain non-engineered.

**Introduction**

The Gorkha earthquake of April 2015 (magnitude 7.8), felt from Bihar to Delhi, and the Hindu Kush tremor that October made earthquakes seem more frequent in the subcontinent. India's exposure is clear: the PIB (2025) places about 59% of its land in earthquake-prone zones.

**Why Earthquakes Seem More Frequent**

SKETCH: flow | From hazard to disaster
- Himalayan plate collision
- Strain stored on thrusts
- Sudden rupture
- Weak, crowded buildings
- Mass casualties

1. **Better detection**: Seismic observatories rose from 80 in 2014 to 168 by February 2025 (PIB), so small tremors once missed are now recorded.
2. **Stored Himalayan strain**: Roger Bilham's "central seismic gap" between the 1905 Kangra and 1934 Bihar-Nepal ruptures still holds unreleased strain.
3. **Greater exposure**: Unplanned growth of towns in Zones IV and V, from Delhi to Guwahati, means the same tremor now hits far more people.

**Gaps in India's Preparedness**

1. **Weak code enforcement**: IS 1893 and the National Building Code exist, but most houses are non-engineered, as the Ahmedabad collapses in the 2001 Bhuj earthquake revealed.
2. **Unsafe lifelines**: Bhuj's civil hospital collapsed in 2001, and few hospitals, schools and bridges have since been retrofitted.
3. **Thin risk knowledge**: Seismic microzonation is complete for only a few cities such as Delhi, Guwahati and Bengaluru.
4. **Last-mile response**: The NDRF (2006) leads rescue, but trained masons, school drills and early warning remain scarce; Uttarakhand's IIT Roorkee alert system came only in 2021.

**Conclusion**

Earthquakes do not kill people; weak buildings do. India's deficit lies in vulnerability rather than in the hazard, and investing in risk reduction across Zones IV and V, as the Sendai Framework urges, would make a seismically active subcontinent a resilient one.

The frequency of earthquakes appears to have increased in the Indian subcontinent. However, India's preparedness for mitigating their impact has significant gaps. Discuss various aspects.

Model answer

Practise this question

Earthquakes & Tsunamis3 questions

Ghissu