QUESTION 8
GS3
10 marks
Discuss India’s vulnerability to earthquake-related hazards. Give examples, including salient features of major disasters caused by earthquakes in different parts of India during the last three decades.
WRITE IN
7 min
150 words
What the examiner wants
Discuss India's exposure to earthquakes, with features of major quakes in the last 30 years.
Discuss with examplesAnswer exactly what the question asks.
Demand-wise check
- 1Vulnerability: about 59% of land prone; seismic zones II–V; Himalayas, North-East, Kutch, Andaman most at risk≈30 words
- 2Causes: Indian Plate's northward push, intraplate faults≈30 words
- 3Examples: Latur 1993 (intraplate, stable shield), Bhuj 2001, Kashmir 2005, Sikkim 2011, Andaman–Sumatra 2004 (tsunami)≈30 words
- 4Gaps: building codes not enforced; NDMA guidelines≈30 words
Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.
Answer plan
Zones mapCausesExamples with featuresPreparedness gapsConclusion
Where marks usually go
- No disasters from the last three decades
- No feature of each event (magnitude, cause, damage)
Draw this
- Seismic zone map with quake locations
Value addition
- DataAbout 59% of India's land is earthquake-prone (zones III–V).NDMA / BIS IS 1893
- ExampleBhuj 2001 (M7.7) killed about 20,000 people; many deaths were due to collapse of non-engineered buildings, leading to Gujarat's state disaster law (2003).Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 41 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aniket Ranjan · AIR 48 · Page 15 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 19 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aniket Ranjan · AIR 48 · Page 41 ↗Same syllabus reference
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