Seismic Zonations at Micro and Macro-Level for Regions in the Peninsular India

Due to the lack of proper preparedness in the country against natural disasters, even an earthquake of moderate magnitude can cause extensive damage. This necessitates seismic zonation. Seismic zonation is a process in which a large region is demarcated into small zones based on the levels of earthquake hazards. Seismic zonation is generally carried out at micro-level, meso-level and macro-level. Presently, there are only a few guidelines available regarding the use of a particular level of zonation for a given study area. The present study checks the suitability of various levels of seismic zonation for different regions and reviews the feasibility of various methodologies for site characterization and site effect estimation. Further the seismic zonation was carried out both at the micro (for the Kalpakkam) and macro-level (for Karnataka state) using the appropriate methodologies. Based on this, recommendations have been made regarding the suitability of various methodologies as well as the grid size to be adopted for different level of zonation based on actual studies.