This book highlights some of the interesting recent and historical earthquakes (1803 Uttarkashi, 1819 Kutch, 1897 Shillong, 1905 Kangra, 1934 Nepal-Bihar, 1950 Upper Assam, 1967 Koyna, 1993 Killari, 1997 Jabalpur, 2001 Bhuj, 2004 Sumatra-Andaman, 2005 Kashmir, and 2015 Nepal) that occurred in India and in the vicinity. The tectonic and geodynamic significance of the modern (after the advent of global network) earthquakes in relation to some of the historical earthquakes like the 1819 Kachchh and 1897 Shillong and 1934 Nepal-Bihar earthquakes in the light of newer understanding is discussed. It also contains detailed expositions of seismotectonics and mechanisms of each earthquake. It concludes with touching upon future earthquake hazard scenario in India in view of the present and past earthquakes.
C. P. Rajendran is an Indian geoscientist known for his wide-ranging research activities across geological and geophysical sciences His research broadly focuses on geodynamics and tectonics with an emphasis on the earthquake source zones of India. After completing his bachelor’s at the Trivandrum University College, he took his post-graduation and doctoral degrees from the Cochin University of Science and Technology. Rajendran began his career in the Centre for Earth Science Studies, as a research scientist and took his doctorate from the Cochin University. After obtaining a Ph.D., he left for the University of South Carolina (USA) for postdoctoral work. On receiving the Ramanujan Fellowship, he was hosted in the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and later in the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research. He has several awards to his credit including the National Geoscience Award. Currently, he is an adjunct professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies.
Kusala Rajendran is an Indian seismologist who has worked extensively on Indian earthquakes. Kusala completed her bachelor’s at the St.Teresa’s College, Kochi, and M.Tech (Applied Geophysics) from IIT, Roorkee. She did her Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina, USA. After her return to India, she got involved in understanding the source properties of the earthquakes along the plate boundaries, including the Himalaya and the Andaman-Sumatra. She has also collaborated with C.P. Rajendran, her spouse on active tectonics and paleoseismology. After a stint in the Centre for Earth Sciences, Trivandrum joined as faculty at the Center for Earth Sciences (IISc) and taught both at graduate and undergraduate levels, and supervised Ph.D. candidates. She has received several awards including the first National Award for Women Scientist instituted by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.
