Seismic hazard assessment of Faizabad region of Uttar Pradesh, India, utilizing deterministic and probabilistic approaches

Seismic hazard maps have been developed for the Faizabad region of Uttar Pradesh state of India, utilizing deterministic and probabilistic methodologies. Maximum earthquake magnitudes were meticulously determined for each seismic source within a 500 km radius, considering region-specific seismotectonic parameters and rupture characteristics. Twenty-seven ground motion prediction equations were considered for the studied regions, and through an efficacy test, ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) were selected for segmented hypocentral distances. The final hazard values were computed by applying varied weighting factors to the chosen GMPEs. The peak ground acceleration (PGA) and spectral acceleration (SA) were computed for 2 and 10% probabilities of exceedance in 50 years. The PGA values for the region were found to range between 0.01 and 0.14 g, as obtained from the deterministic analyses. It was inferred from the PSHA that the PGA values range between 0.05 to 0.20 g and 0.01 to 0.12 g for the 2 and 10% probability of exceedance, respectively, for 50 years. Blocks situated in the southeastern part of the city, encompassing Gonda, Faizabad Sultanpur, and Pratapgarh, have been singled out as particularly vulnerable to seismic hazards, thus warranting heightened attention and strategic planning in urban and infrastructure development.