Digital seismograph in Salem in need of repair

While a team from the ministry of earth sciences is carrying out soil tests in Coimbatore, the only digital seismograph for the entire western region is out of action for the last few months.
The digital seismograph was installed at the Salem collectorate in 2013.

In the event of an earthquake, the possibility of recording it now is nil.

The Coimbatore district administration has long been seeking a digital seismograph to be installed in its new building.

In 1900, a minor earthquake was reported in Coimbatore with a magnitude of 6 in Richter scale. Authorities from the Coimbatore disaster management department were also demanding for a seismograph in the city.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) is the nodal agency for monitoring seismic activity nationwide. It maintains a seismological network comprising 82 seismological observatories. In Tamil Nadu, three seismological observatories are functioning from Chennai, Kodaikanal and Salem.

A seismograph was installed inside the district collectorate in Salem in 1999. The IMD replaced it with a digital seismograph in 2013.

An officer from the IMD said, “If any earthquake with the reading of four in Richter scale is reported in Coimbatore, there is no possibility to record it at the seismological observatories located in Salem, Chennai and Kodaikanal. It could be recorded in the observatories only when it is above 4 in the Richter scale. Moreover, it would take 5 to 7 minutes to complete the recording process in the observatories. If a seismograph is installed at the district collectorate in Coimbatore, it could be recorded within a minute.”

He said the digital seismograph in Salem had recorded earlier earthquakes in Andaman, Gujarat and northeast. Now, the IMD can monitor the digital seismographs from New Delhi with the help of V-Sat based digital seismic telemetry system.

Three weeks ago, the Coimbatore district administration has sent a proposal to the commissioner of revenue administration (CRA) to allot an advanced digital seismograph for Coimbatore district collectorate.