Abstract: Stability of any civil engineering structure is greatly depends upon its foundation. Mostly foundation of any structure designed with the consideration of types of soils and its safe bearing capacity. Ground water table is also an important point, that should keep in mind while design any foundation. The city of Jabalpur (23 0 10 ‘N: 79 0 57’ E: MSL 402 M) is a third largest city of Madhya Pradesh. Jabalpur is a town situated in the heart of Madhya Pradesh. Looking to the past tectonic record in the locality Jabalpur is seismically sensitive. The city is in an earthquake prone area and comes under earthquake zone III as per IS: 1893-1984. Jabalpur city is vulnerable to the occurrence of major earthquake like the one which took place earlier. A moderate earthquake struck central India on the morning hours of May 22, 1997. The epicentre of the earthquake was located about 12 km S-E to the city of Jabalpur. The earthquake caused considerable damage and loss of life. Jabalpur is a city having considerable verities in soil types, so it is necessary to design the foundation of the structures with the consideration of history of earthquake in this locality and variation of soils in this region. This study highlights the sensitivity of the area with respect to earthquake and discusses some important recommendations for safe constructions.

Keywords: Seismicity, Meizoseismal, Central Indian Tectonic Zone (CITZ), Lineament, NNF, NSF, vulnerability