Earthquake Monitoring

RAJYA SABHA

Statistical analysis of the available earthquakes database does not indicate any apparent increasing trend in the earthquake frequency. With the densification of seismic network in recent times, it has become possible to detect lower magnitude earthquakes over India.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) is the nodal agency in the country to monitor the earthquake activity on 24X7 basis and notify the magnitude and location soon after the occurrence of any earthquake in and around the country. The capability has been augmented recently in the wake of the Tsunami waves that struck the Indian coasts on 26th December, 2004. As part of the network augmentation, a Real Time Seismic Monitoring Network (RTSMN) consisting of 17 field stations has been set up with auto-location capability to provide timely input to the Tsunami Warning System in operation at Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad.

Providing information prior to the occurrence is not possible as on today, anywhere in the world as no prediction methodology exists. Global scientific community is making efforts to study the pre-cursory phenomena of earthquakes.

This information was given by Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Kapil Sibal, in the Rajya Sabha today.

Source: Press Inormation Bureau
Date: March 05, 2008