SEISMIC HAZARD ASSESSMENT FOR NATIONAL CAPITOL REGION

Abstract

Earthquakes are one of nature greatest hazard to life’s and property which could cause intense shaking at the earth’s surface and have potential to cause huge socio-economic losses. The rapid growth of population, urbanization and poor construction practices in high-risk zones level of risk will have a significant impact, the assessment of earthquake’s risk will help to visualize the consequences and potential socio-economic losses and helps to decide what to be planned. Delhi the capital of India is a burgeoning metropolis having a population of some seventeen million people. The city has experienced earthquakes in the past and is vulnerable for earthquake related damages in the future. There are nearby diffuse seismic sources known for their sporadic activity. In addition, the threat perception is highlighted by the proximity of the active Himalayan plate boundary region. Thus, seismic hazard at Delhi is controlled broadly by two different tectonic regimes namely, the Himalayan region (HR) and the Delhi region (DR). The present study aims at mapping the peak ground acceleration (PGA) values for Delhi city, using probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) methods. A total number of eighteen districts from three states, have been selected consisting the National Capital Region to calculate hazard generating from nearby sources. Seven major faults are selected as per the seismotectonic features of the region. Earthquake catalogue data for past 50 years is selected. After Declustering, check for completeness is applied. Hazard curves are plotted for all the selected districts and results are shown in table formate.