Seismic map identifies high risk areas of Assam capital

The Assam capital became the fourth city in the country to get its seismic microzonation map, with areas like the Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi International Airport and the Saraighat bridge on the Brahmaputra being identified as “high hazard zone.” The report said the western part of Guwahati was the most hazard-prone zone as far as earthquakes and quake-induced disaster was concerned, and called upon the Government, city planners as well as individuals to strictly adhere to the safety norms while carrying out various kinds of construction activities.

The report has divided Guwahati into five zones on the basis of integration of ground motion attributes with the geological, geotechnical, geomorphological and local site conditions. The report comes merely a couple of months ahead of Guwahati getting its new masterplan ready. Guwahati and the entire Northeastern region lies in Zone V, the most seismically active area, and has experienced a series of major earthquakes, of which the ones that occurred in 1897 and 1950 were the most devastating.