Current Status of Palaeoseismology in India - An Overview

Paleoseismic investigations so far carried out in India are spread over two tectonically distinct areas, viz., the interplate seismic zone of Himalaya and the intraplate Stable Continental Region (SCR). Most of the reported paleoseismicity studies provided geological evidences like soft sediment deformation, paleoliquefaction features (like sand dykes, sand blows etc), small scale folding, faulting with disptacement of beds etc. Though the evaluation of recurrellce period of destructive seismic events is a pre-requisite for paleoseismology, no paleoseismic study in India so far has provided information on the recurrence period, except for the detailed study in the Shillong plateau, which suggested recurrence period of 400-600 yrs for major earthquakes.