Seismic Hazard and Risk Assessment in Maharashtra: A Critical Review

Abstract

AbstractIn peninsula India, the state of Maharashtra has suffered from frequent intra-plate earthquakes. In 1967, the Koyna earthquake caused few hundred deaths and structural damage, and then, in 1993, the Killari earthquake in Latur district caused thousands of deaths and enormous structural damage. There are two basic methods for assessing the seismic ground motion hazard in a particular region or at a specific site, namely deterministic methods and probabilistic methods. In deterministic seismic hazard analysis, a particular earthquake scenario is presumed. On another hand, uncertainties in earthquake location, size, and time are considered in case of probabilistic seismic hazard analysis. Geotechnical and geophysical data-based site characterization helped to divide the area into smaller zones giving a new direction toward microzonation. This paper deals with the compilation of various studies carried out at different region of the Maharashtra based on several approaches. A critical review is presented on each of these methods, highlighting their limitations and suitability of application.KeywordsSeismic hazardSeismic responseMASWLiquefactionShear wave velocity