Seismic Vulnerability of Residential Buildings in Jammu City, Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir is one of the most seismically active region on the planet Earth which was affected by several small and large magnitude earthquakes including the devastating 2005 Muzaffarabad earthquake (Mw 7.6). The Jammu city is the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir and falls under Zone IV of the seismic zoning map of India having severe seismic intensity. This area has witnessed infrastructure work progressing at a faster pace over the past few years including highway construction, dam construction, and tunnelling as part of urban development. The earthquake-induced damages push the framework of development into the dark zone of desolation and lead to affect the overall economic growth. This paper discusses the seismic vulnerability of Jammu City’s residential buildings based on a variety of parameters including population, density under the demographic framework and building height, building age, materials used for construction purposes under structural specifications. According to the finding of the present study, residential buildings constructed in the northern part of the city which lies on the right bank of the Tawi river are extremely vulnerable to earthquakes, and urgent steps should be taken to keep them safe for the people who live in them. To achieve this goal, appropriate urban planning policies should be implemented to handle the seismic damage of residential buildings in Jammu City like urban areas in case of any future earthquake event.