Many areas in Odisha are at risk of earthquakes

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While sinking of land in the Himalayan town of Joshimath in Uttarakhand has emerged as a major concern, similar seismic incidents in Odisha cannot be ruled out.

According to the report of the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA), the state is also at risk of natural disasters such as earthquakes of various intensities.

The report says that Odisha falls into seismic zones 2 and 3 in seismic mapping. The country is under the category of moderately exposed and partially exposed area.

As many as 14 zones fall under the moderately exposed zone (Zone 2). The districts are Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Bolangir, Subarnapur, Boudh, Nayagarh and Keonjhar.

Similarly, 16 districts – Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Cuttack, Khordha, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj and Balasore – fall under zone 3 (the partially exposed region).

According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, given the recorded history of earthquakes in the country, a total of 59 percent of the landmass of India (covering all states of India) is prone to earthquakes of various intensities.

According to the country’s seismic subdivision map, the total area has been classified into four seismic zones. Region V is the most seismically active region, while Region II is the least. Almost 11 percent of the country’s area is in Region V, 18 percent is in Region IV, 30 percent is in Region III and remains in Region II.

The National Seismological Center of the Ministry of Earth Sciences is the nodal agency of the Government of India (GoI) for monitoring earthquakes in and around the country.

For this purpose, the NCS maintains a National Seismological Network (NSN) consisting of 115 observatories spread across the country. Information on earthquakes reported by the NCS is disseminated to central and state disaster authorities as soon as possible to initiate appropriate mitigation measures.

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