Gangtok, Oct. 17: The Himalayan seismogenic zone is prone to a maximum credible earthquake (MCE) of 8.3 magnitude on the Richter scale with peak ground acceleration.
This observation features in the Seismic Hazard and Microzonation Atlas of the Sikkim Himalayas prepared by Sankar Kumar Nath, professor and former head of the department of geology and geophysics, IIT, Kharagpur. Nath disclosed this while presenting his project at a workshop, Microzonation of the Sikkim Region, organised by the state council of science and technology at the Janata Bhavan here.
He, however, said the intensity of the quake, which was active and would come fifty years later, would hit Sikkim with a lesser intensity, measuring at an average of 6 on the Richter scale.
The project for the microzonation of the Sikkim Himalayas first started in 1997 and, taken up in three phases, has culminated in the tabling of the report by Nath. The project is a benchmark work for the region. So far the IIT team has spent over Rs 1.5 crore on the project that was funded by the Centre’s department of science and technology in close coordination with the Sikkim state council of science and technology.
According to Nath, microzonation is a process that involves incorporation of geological, seismological and geotechnical concerns into economically, sociologically and politically justifiable and defensible land use planning for earthquake effects. This kind of mapping will help architects and engineers to design structures that will be less susceptible to damage during earthquakes. It also provides general guidelines on construction and design aspects as well.
State science and technology minister S.B. Subedi, who was the chief guest at the function today, said Sikkim is a fast developing state and a lot of structures are coming up. He urged the civil engineers to study the findings of the IIT team and implement the suggestions.
Chief secretary N. D. Chingapa, director of the Union department of science and technology B.K. Bansal and his counterpart in the state O.P. Singhi were also present at the function today.
