Seismic microzonation of Coimbatore Corporation

Abstract

The effects caused by earthquakes in India in the last 50 years have acted as a wake-up call for administrators, engineers, scientists, and the general public. City planners need to consider the magnitude of disruption that an earthquake may have on their city in the event of a future earthquake to develop proper earthquake disaster mitigation plans. Generally, seismic zonation is divided into two categories, macro and micro. The macro level constitutes larger areas such as a country or continent. However, microzonation is implemented on a smaller scale by considering local geology, regional seismicity, and local site circumstances. Earthquake damage patterns depend mainly on the condition of the local site and the magnitude of the earthquake. In India, 60% of geographical areas are vulnerable to seismic disturbances of various intensities. Natural calamities such as earthquakes cannot be predicted or prevented. Buildings and infrastructure developments based on microzonation studies and constructing it according to earthquake resistant designs however will reduce the impact of an earthquake on the structure. Seismic microzonation urban areas, which included industrial buildings and residential areas, were first attempted in 1954 in Yokohama City, Japan. Different zones, equivalent soil conditions, and seismic coefficients were taken into consideration. The subdivision of natural territory into multiple smaller seismic zones is known as seismic microzonation. It provides detailed information about earthquake hazards at a larger scale. The zoning scale depends on the accurate data on database and the reliability of the appropriate map. Micro level zonation is critical for cities and urban centers due to the increasing population. newline