MAJOR QUAKE MAY LEAVE MUMBAI CITY DEVASTATED

LAND OF THE RISING SEA

Experts Say Mumbai's Reclaimed Areas Will Be Under Threat

Mumbai: If a deepsea earthquake above 5 on the Richter scale were to hit Mumbai, only the seven original islands of the city will probably remain unscathed. The rest of Mumbai, built on tidal flats or reclaimed land, faces major devastation say experts.
    Geological Survey of India (GSI) experts who measured the risk Mumbai faced if a deep-sea earthquake hit the peninsular region, said a quake above 5 on the Richter scale will cause intensive damage in all areas, barring the seven islands from where Mumbai expanded over the ages into the Arabian sea. Friday's quake in Japan measured 8.9 on the scale.
    The five-year study shows that areas at maximum risk include mainly Central Mumbai like Prabhadevi, Dadar, Sion and Mahalaxmi. Other areas at risk include Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Churchgate station, Bandra, Vashi, Mira Road, Bhayander, Borivli and Malad (W), Kalina, and Kurla. GSI experts said a huge amount of methane is also trapped under the soil in Mahalaxmi which can cause a fire hazard in a quake. Besides, Mahalaxmi had a shallow soil depth, 2.5-6 m.
    Areas at less risk included Nerul, Koparkhairane, Airoli, some parts of Kharghar, Goregaon East, Malad and Aarey colony. The study 'Seismic Hazard and Risk Microzonation of Mumbai area' conducted by a GSI team led by director of its earthquake geology division Anjan Chatterjee in 2009, concluded the old areas that comprised Mumbai, like Colaba, Old Woman's island, Girgaum, Mazgaon, Wadala, Parel, old Mahim, Worli, Malabar Hills, and the forests and hilly belt of Borivli are comparatively safer.
    Talking to TOI from Nagpur, Chatterjee said GSI was conducting studies for 52 cities and started with Mumbai because of its area, population and vulnerability. The city is in seismic zone III. He said Maharashtra is on a rocky black basalt belt formed after major volcanic eruption 60 to 65 million years ago. He said there was no major fault on the ocean bed around Mumbai and so it was not prone to heavy tsunamis.
    Senior IIT professor Alok Goyal said the government should make use of earthquake-resistant technology mandatory for new constructions in the city.
TREMOR TERROR RUNS DEEP
Mumbai falls in seismic Zone III, considered moderately safe, Zone V being most at risk Major topographic faults in and around Mumbai: Bombay fault, Chiplun fault, Koyna fault, Ghod lineament and Panvel flexure
Safe Areas | Colaba, Old Woman's island, Girgaum, Mazgaon, Wadala, Parel, old Mahim, Worli, Malabar Hills, forests and hilly belt of Borivli Highly Vulnerable | Central Mumbai like Prabhadevi, Dadar, Sion & Mahalaxmi, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Churchgate station areas, Vashi, Mira Road, Bhayander, Bandra, Borivli & Malad (W), Kalina and Kurla Less Risk | Nerul, Koparkhairane, Airoli, some parts of Kharghar, Goregaon & Malad (E) and Aarey colony