With a vision to reduce the long term risk in Aizawl city, the Government of Mizoram had signed an MoU with GeoHazards Society (GHS),New Delhifor providing technical expertise in the fields of earthquake and landslide risk reduction. GHS and its partner organisation GeoHazards International (GHI) assisted by MunichRe has been providing no-cost services of a team of internationally acclaimed experts in the field of seismology, landslide geology, structural engineering, land use planning and public policy to understand the factors Increasing the earthquake and landslide risk in Aizawl city and to recommend strategies to be undertaken by the Government and other stakeholders in reducing the risk to Aizawl city. The team, on its second visit to Aizawl, have developed an earthquake scenario for Aizawl city, which describes the effects that a hypothetical magnitude 7.0 earthquake would bave onAizawlCity. This was presented to various stakeholders in a meeting at the I & PR hall on October 29, 2013. Team members also briefed the Honourable Chief Minister on the and on recommendations to make Aizawl city safer from earthquakes and landslides.

The GHI team estimates that if the scenario earthquake were to occur, it would collapse more than a quarter of Aizawi's buildings, kiH more than 25,000 people, and cause nearly 1,000 landslides within the Aizawl Urban Area. In the aftermath of such an earthquake, Aizawl would be cut off from the rest ofIndia. Numerous landslides would block the national highways. Landline and mobile telephone systems would be down. Within Aizawl, collapsed buildings and fallen bricks would block most streets and pathways, landslides would sweep away roads and buildings, especially during the monsoon. The electrical power and water systems would be heavily damaged and will be out of service for weeks, meaning no light or water. Simply clearing the debris would take months. The recovery process would take years. Some families and businesses would never recover, and others would leave Aizawl and never return. Mizoram and Aizawl would never be the same. However, the consequences of this scenario earthquake need not happen. The GHI/GHS project team, working with Government agencies, has developed a set of recommendations to help make Aizawl city safer and reduce the tremendous damage and loss of life that will occur, if nothing is done.

The highest priority recommendations include regulating slope cutting that makes slopes unstable; providing a comprehensive rainwater drainage system to help prevent ram-triggered landslides; following the AMC building regulations to help prevent building collapses in an earthquake : preventing land allocation in areas of high landslide hazards; and obtaining more detailed geologic maps to better define hazardous areas. The project team will be providing the public and concerned government departments with a report outlining recommended steps to improve earthquake and landslide safety here in Aizawl.

1)  Mr Kevin Clahan (Engineering geology), Principal Engineering Geologist, Lettis Consultants International, Inc.California.

2)  Mr William Holmes (Structural Engineering), Senior Consultant, Rutherford andChekene,California.

3)  Mr Larry Mintler (Land Use Planning), Principal,Mintler Harnish,California.

4)  Dr. Janise Rodgers (Structural Engineering), Chief Operating Officer, GHI,California.

5)  Dr. Leonardo Seeber (Structural Geology), Lamont Research Profesor, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, New York.

6)   Mr L. Thomas Tobin (Public Policy and Geotechnical Engineering), Senior Advisor, GHI,California.

7)   Dr. Brian Tucker(Seismology), President, GHI,California.

8)    Dr. Ajay Katuri (Architechure and Land Use Planning), Assistant Professor,CEPTUniversity, Ahmedabad.

9)    Dr. Vineet Gahalaut (Geophysics) Principal Scientist, Natiomal Geophysical Research Institute,Hyderabad.

10) Dr. Pradeep K Ramancharla (Structural Engineering), Professor, International Institute of InformationTechnology, Hyderabad.

11) Ms Lalrinpuii Tlau (Disaster Management), Mitigation Officer, GHI, Aizawl.

12) Mr Hari Kumar (Civil Engineering), Regional Coordinator, GeoHazards Society,new Delhi.

 Mr PC Lawmsanga, Principal Secretary DM&R Govt. of Mizoram led the team.