What seismic zone is Delhi in?

Delhi is in Seismic Zone IV with a zone factor Z = 0.24. This means all structures in Delhi must be designed for severe earthquake intensity.

Is Mumbai earthquake-prone?

Mumbai is in Seismic Zone III (Z = 0.16, moderate intensity). While not in the highest risk zone, all buildings must be designed for seismic forces. Parts of Navi Mumbai and Thane may be in different sub-classifications.

Which Indian cities are in the highest seismic zone (Zone V)?

Major cities in Zone V include Guwahati, Shillong, Imphal, Jorhat (all in North-East India), Srinagar (J&K), and Bhuj (Gujarat). The entire Andaman & Nicobar Islands are also in Zone V.

IS 1893:2016 — Criteria for Earthquake Resistant Design of Struct…

IS 1893:2016 — Clause Table 2

Seismic Zone Classification of Indian Cities

Table 2 of IS 1893 Part 1:2016 provides the seismic zone classification for important towns and cities across India. This table is used in conjunction with the seismic zone map (Fig. 1) to determine the zone factor Z for a project site. The zone assignment determines the severity of seismic design requirements.

Key Requirements

•The seismic zone of a project site shall be determined from Table 2 or the zone map in Fig. 1 (Annex A)
•For cities/towns not listed, the zone shall be determined from the zone map
•For sites near zone boundaries, the higher zone factor shall be adopted
•The zone classification shall be used to determine Z from Table 3

Reference Tables

Table 2 — Seismic Zone Classification of Some Important Indian Cities (Annex A)

City/Town	State	Seismic Zone
Agra	Uttar Pradesh	III
Ahmedabad	Gujarat	III
Ajmer	Rajasthan	II
Allahabad (Prayagraj)	Uttar Pradesh	II
Ambala	Haryana	IV
Amritsar	Punjab	IV
Asansol	West Bengal	III
Aurangabad	Maharashtra	II
Bangalore (Bengaluru)	Karnataka	II
Bareilly	Uttar Pradesh	III
Belgaum (Belagavi)	Karnataka	III
Bhopal	Madhya Pradesh	II
Bhubaneswar	Odisha	III
Bhuj	Gujarat	V
Chandigarh	Chandigarh	IV
Chennai	Tamil Nadu	III
Chitradurga	Karnataka	II
Coimbatore	Tamil Nadu	III
Dehradun	Uttarakhand	IV
Delhi	Delhi	IV
Dharwad	Karnataka	III
Durgapur	West Bengal	III
Gangtok	Sikkim	IV
Guwahati	Assam	V
Gwalior	Madhya Pradesh	II
Hyderabad	Telangana	II
Imphal	Manipur	V
Indore	Madhya Pradesh	II
Jabalpur	Madhya Pradesh	III
Jaipur	Rajasthan	II
Jamshedpur	Jharkhand	II
Jodhpur	Rajasthan	II
Jorhat	Assam	V
Kanpur	Uttar Pradesh	III
Kochi	Kerala	III
Kolkata	West Bengal	III
Lucknow	Uttar Pradesh	III
Ludhiana	Punjab	IV
Madurai	Tamil Nadu	II
Mangalore (Mangaluru)	Karnataka	III
Mumbai	Maharashtra	III
Mysore (Mysuru)	Karnataka	II
Nagpur	Maharashtra	II
Nainital	Uttarakhand	IV
Nashik	Maharashtra	III
Panaji	Goa	III
Patiala	Punjab	III
Patna	Bihar	IV
Pondicherry (Puducherry)	Puducherry	III
Pune	Maharashtra	III
Raipur	Chhattisgarh	II
Rajkot	Gujarat	III
Ranchi	Jharkhand	II
Roorkee	Uttarakhand	IV
Shimla	Himachal Pradesh	IV
Shillong	Meghalaya	V
Siliguri	West Bengal	IV
Srinagar	Jammu & Kashmir	V
Surat	Gujarat	III
Thiruvananthapuram	Kerala	III
Udaipur	Rajasthan	II
Vadodara	Gujarat	III
Varanasi	Uttar Pradesh	III
Vijayawada	Andhra Pradesh	III
Visakhapatnam	Andhra Pradesh	II
Warangal	Telangana	II

This is a representative list. For cities not listed, refer to the seismic zone map in Fig. 1. All of North-East India and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands are in Zone V.

Practical Notes

✓Delhi is in Zone IV (Z=0.24) — all buildings in NCR require seismic design for severe intensity

✓Mumbai is in Zone III (Z=0.16) — moderate seismic design required for all structures

✓All North-Eastern states and Andaman & Nicobar Islands are in Zone V (Z=0.36)

✓The entire Himalayan belt from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh is in Zone IV or V

✓Peninsular India (Bangalore, Hyderabad, Nagpur) is mostly Zone II, with some Zone III pockets

Common Mistakes

⚠Assuming all of a state is in one zone — many states span multiple zones (e.g., Maharashtra has Zone II, III, and IV areas)

⚠Not checking the zone map for project locations between listed cities

⚠Using outdated zone classifications from pre-2002 editions of IS 1893

⚠Assuming peninsular India is safe from earthquakes — Zone II still requires seismic design

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Resources

Cl. 6.4.2 Cl. 7.2 Rcc Design Earthquake Zones of India IS 1893 vs ASCE 7: Seismic Design Code Comparison (India vs USA)

View all 10 clauses of IS 1893:2016 →