A report by the United Nations office on disaster risk reduction, UNISDR, points out that over 50 stations (phases I & II) of the Delhi Metro are located in areas of high-earthquake hazard, exposing the line to earthquakes of up to a magnitude of 8 on the Richter scale.
UNISDR said this in its Global Assessment Report (GAR), which was released on June 3 for the Asia-Pacific region. One of the stations was also built in a high-flood hazard area. In both cases, hazard information was available on municipal zoning maps, it says.
Based on a comprehensive risk assessment study carried out through Bangalore-based Indian Institute for Human Settlements, the organisation prepared this report.
The report estimated the loss of revenue as over Rs 4,100 crore if a disaster had struck Delhi Metro in 2012.
Despite awareness of earthquake and flood risk, much of the expansion of Delhi Metro has taken place in highly hazard-prone areas.
According to the report, the Metro line is exposed to high flood and earthquake risk even for short-return periods of 1-10 years. It cites case studies, saying considerations for site locations were not governed or even directed by reasons of disaster risk.
The study points out that disaster risk reduction does not seem to play a role in the decisions at the time of planning, although measures may have been taken at the construction phase to address this risk.
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