Himachal Pradesh: India is often shaken by earthquakes. Here earthquake tremors are felt from north to south and from east to west. For this a seismic zoning has been decided. Now a revised seismic zoning map has been released in the country under the Earthquake Design Code (BIS, 2025) on the basis of faults, maximum probable events, attenuation, tectonics, petrology etc.
A new map of earthquake danger has been released in India. Earlier the country was divided into four earthquake zones – II, III, IV and V, but now a new risk zone VI has also been added. In this, the Himalayan region has also been included in the risky zone, which has been included in the most dangerous zone.
1. The entire Himalayan region has been included in a single most dangerous zone VI for the first time. Earlier it was divided into Region IV and V.
2. Border towns, which fell between the two regions, will now be directly considered in the high-risk category.
3. Danger assessment will now be done on the basis of geological conditions rather than administrative boundaries.
What is India’s earthquake sensitivity now?
1. Now more areas are at risk of earthquake than before.
2. 61% of the land is now in medium to high risk areas, which was 59% earlier.
3. 75% of the country’s population now lives in seismically active areas.
Most dangerous zones of earthquake
1. Zone VI: Agartala, Bhuj, Chandigarh, Darjeeling, Leh, Mandi, Panchkula, Shimla, Shillong
2. Zone V: Ambala, Amritsar, Bahraich, Jalandhar, Karnal, Saharanpur, Rampur
3. Zone IV: Noida, Delhi, Gurugram, Ghaziabad
Let us tell you that according to the old map (years 2002 and 2016), four zones were divided, in which Zone II was the least hazardous and Zone V was the most hazardous area, but in the year 2025, a new zone (Zone VI) has been included in the seismic map of India, due to which the number of zones has now increased to five.
Himalayan region included in Zone VI
According to experts, Zone VI was included because plates are colliding in the Himalayan region, due to which the pressure is increasing there. There has been no earthquake in the main part of the Himalayas for 200 years, but due to increasing pressure, there is a fear that if an earthquake occurs here once, its intensity will be so high that other states can be affected by it, hence this state has been kept in Zone VI.
1. Zone II: Very low risk (11% land), parts of South India.
2. Zone III: Moderate threat (30% land), Central India.
3. Zone IV: High threat (18% land), cities like Delhi, Mumbai.
4. Zone V: Very high risk (11% land), Kutch, North-East of Gujarat.
5. Zone VI: Highest threat (new), entire Himalaya – from Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal.
What changes of the new map?
1. Strong and safe construction will be encouraged in high-risk areas.
2. There will be restrictions on the expansion of new settlements and buildings near soft soil or active fault lines.
3. Uniform building safety standards can be implemented in the Himalayan states, which will help in reducing losses.
In simple words, this new map shows that large parts of India are at risk of earthquakes and now more than ever, caution and better construction is needed. NDMA is responsible for laying down disaster management policies and SDMA is in charge of formulating and implementing disaster plans. The National Seismological Network monitors earthquake activities and conducts research on developing earthquake early warning systems.
