The concept of seismic vulnerability is a yard-stick of damage estimation from a probable earthquake considering physical cum social dimension and enables a basis for decision-makers to develop preparedness and mitigation strategies. We aim at vulnerability assessment of the typical urban system of capital city Shillong situated on hilly terrain. High-resolution satellite imagery of Shillong facilitates analysis of building footprints, communication network, and open ground. Different building typologies are identified taking into account the building’s structural configuration assessed through a rapid visual survey of more than 15% of total residential households. Slope map demarcates the landslide-prone area through discrete elevation modelling. A methodology incorporating several parameters e.g. building typology, slope angle, shear wave velocity characteristics, geomorphology, and the number of occupants in correlation with a physical measurement of vulnerability is presented and is applied to estimate the dimension of vulnerability. Additionally, MASW survey indicates lithology up to 30 m deep along with the existence of stiff soil and rocks at different depths whereas resonant frequency is identified to be in the range of 6–8 Hz through H/V ratio. Integrating all, it is observed that more than 60% of Shillong city falls under moderate to higher vulnerability and the rest is less vulnerable.
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Baruah et al. (2019) studied this question.