Discuss about the vulnerability of India to earthquake related hazards. Give examples including the salient features of major disasters caused by earthquakes in different parts of India during the last three decades.
Approach · directive: “discuss / give examples”
What it asks · Explain why India is highly exposed to earthquake hazards and give examples of major earthquakes of the last three decades with their salient features.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Discuss India's vulnerability to earthquake-related hazards: tectonic setting, seismic zoning, human factors and secondary hazards
- Give examples of major earthquakes of the last three decades in different parts of India, with their salient features
Open with · Most of India lies on or near active plate boundaries and old faults, so earthquake risk is widespread and rising with urban growth.
Cover
- Zoning: BIS puts parts of the Himalaya, the North-East, Kachchh and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in zone V; the peninsula has active pockets too.
- Causes: the Indian plate pushes under Eurasia, building stress along the Himalayan arc; the Kachchh rift and some peninsular faults also produce damaging quakes.
- Man-made multipliers: non-engineered masonry houses, dense unplanned towns, unsafe high-rises, weak enforcement of building codes and low public awareness.
- Latur 1993: shallow quake in a region thought safe; village houses collapsed. Bhuj 2001: over 13,000 dead, liquefaction, collapsed buildings even in Ahmedabad.
- Himalayan events: Uttarkashi 1991 and Chamoli 1999 hit mountain villages; Kashmir 2005 and Sikkim 2011 brought landslides that cut roads and delayed rescue.
- Response: earthquake-resistant codes (BIS), retrofitting, land-use planning, trained masons, NDRF and community drills.
Close with · Earthquakes cannot be predicted, so safe construction and preparedness are the only dependable protection.
Add value (verified)
- About 59% of India's land mass is classed as earthquake-prone: 11% in zone V, 18% in zone IV and 30% in zone III. Earthquake safety, National Institute of Disaster Management (Ministry of Home Affairs) ↗“seismologists have classified 59% of the land mass of India as prone to earthquakes of different magnitudes - 11% in very high risk zone V, 18% in high risk zone IV and 30% moderate risk zone III.”
- NDMA records that the tsunami of the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake (Mw 9.3) was caused by vertical displacement of the seafloor and affected India among many Indian Ocean countries, so earthquake hazard for India includes tsunami. Tsunami, Natural Hazards, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) ↗“The tsunami that occurred during 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of Mw 9.3 was primarily caused by vertical displacement of the seafloor, in response to slip on the inter-plate thrust fault. The earthquake and resulting tsunami in the Indian Ocean affected many countries in Southeast Asia and beyond, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2021, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 216 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
About 59% of India's land is earthquake-prone: 11% in zone V, 18% in zone IV and 30% in zone III (NIDM), and exposure keeps rising with unplanned urban growth.
Why India is vulnerable
- Tectonics: the Indian plate's push under the Eurasian plate strains the whole Himalayan arc; the Kachchh rift and peninsular faults also produce damaging shocks.
- Zoning: BIS zone V covers parts of the Himalaya, the North-East, Kachchh and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands; the peninsula has active pockets.
- Human factors: non-engineered masonry houses, dense unplanned towns, unsafe high-rises, weak code enforcement and low awareness turn tremors into disasters.
- Secondary hazards: landslides in the hills, liquefaction on soft soils and tsunamis from undersea quakes, as the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake (Mw 9.3) showed on India's coast.
Major earthquakes of the last three decades
- Uttarkashi 1991 and Chamoli 1999 (Garhwal Himalaya): mountain villages flattened, landslides blocked roads.
- Latur 1993 (Maharashtra): shallow quake in a region thought safe; village houses collapsed with heavy casualties.
- Bhuj 2001 (Gujarat): over 13,000 dead; liquefaction and collapse of multi-storey buildings as far as Ahmedabad exposed urban vulnerability.
- Kashmir 2005 and Sikkim 2011: landslides cut roads and delayed rescue in remote terrain.
Earthquakes cannot be predicted, so BIS-code construction, retrofitting, land-use planning, trained masons and NDRF-led community drills are the only dependable protection.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.