Centre to install 500 earthquake early-warning sensors in Uttarakhand

Over 500 Earthquake Early Warning Systems (EEWS) sensors will soon be installed across Uttarakhand under the National Earthquake Risk Mitigation Programme (NERMP) to detect ground motion, given the Himalayan state’s high seismic susceptibility.

The Pushkar Singh Dhami government shared the information during the ongoing budget session of the state assembly at Bhararisain on Thursday. Replying to a question raised by Congress MLA Qazi Nizamuddin, state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Subodh Uniyal said that 500 EEWS sensors will be installed in selected locations across the state. Of these, 169 have already been installed, while the remaining sensors will be set up in the coming months.

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In his reply, the minister said that the sensors will mainly be installed in selected fault-thrust regions such as the Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT), Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and Main Central Thrust (MCT).

The HFT region in the Uttarakhand Himalayas lies between the Shivalik Foothills and the Indo-Gangetic plains. The MBT is a major active geological fault line that separates the outer Himalayas or Siwalik range from the lesser Himalayas. The MCT region is a highly unstable geological fault zone separating the lesser and greater Himalayas. It mainly covers areas such as Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Joshimath and Munsyari.

Apart from these regions, the minister, replying on behalf of the Chief Minister, who heads the state disaster management department, said that EEWS sensors will also be installed in seismically sensitive areas along the Indo-Nepal border towards Uttarakhand and along the Uttarakhand-Himachal border. He added that the exact sites for installing these sensors will be decided on the basis of geological surveys of the regions.

Uttarakhand is considered a highly seismically vulnerable state as it witnesses tectonic activities throughout the year, most of which are of very low intensity on the Richter scale.