Mumbai to upgrade its earthquake vulnerability level

MUMBAI: A new geological study on the seismic sensitivity of Mumbai and other cities may lead to the upgrading of Mumbai's earthquake vulnerability level to Zone Four from the present Zone three.

The study, conducted by Ravi Sinha, professor of civil engineering at IIT and his student Kishore Jaiswal, will be submitted to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for evaluation.

The study states that the danger posed by earthquakes in stable continental regions is higher than previously estimated.

"We expect to present the study to BIS next month", Sinha said, adding that it has been circulated widely among scientific circles and that they are awaiting more feedbacks before presenting the case finally.

When told that it has already found space in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA) last week, he said, "I am awaiting a copy of the publication, we must have a copy in our hands before we take the study to BIS".

Sinha sent the report to BSSA a year ago. "It would have been sent through a thorough process of evaluation before publication," he said explaining why BSSA may have taken so long to bring it out.

"It is a journal of immense stature and is read widely. So, our feedback base will also be greater," he added.