Four main earthquakes have been recorded within the Himalayan area over the previous 150 years

Dehradun:

Scientists on Wednesday mentioned there’s a robust chance of a serious earthquake within the Himalayan area and underlined the necessity for higher preparation to minimise the harm to life and property.

Tremors had been felt in Uttarakhand after a robust 6.6-magnitude earthquake jolted the distant mountainous area of western Nepal early Wednesday, killing six individuals.

Senior geophysicist of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology Ajay Paul mentioned the Himalayas have come into existence on account of a collision between Indian and Eurasian plates.

Due to fixed strain of the Eurasian plate on the Indian plate, strained power accumulating beneath it retains releasing itself every so often within the type of earthquakes, Paul mentioned.

“Occurrence of earthquakes due to accumulation of strained energy under the Himalayas is a normal and relentless process. The entire Himalayan region is highly vulnerable to tremors and the strong possibility of a major earthquake is always there,” Paul mentioned.

The magnitude of future earthquake is perhaps of seven or extra on the richter scale, he claimed.

Paul, nonetheless, mentioned the discharge of strained power or an earthquake can’t be predicted. “No one knows when it would happen. It may happen the next moment, the next month or after 100 years,” he mentioned.

Four main earthquakes had been recorded within the Himalayan area over the previous 150 years, together with the tremors in Shillong in 1897, in Kangra in 1905, in Bihar-Nepal in 1934 and in Assam in 1950.

Despite these items of data, nothing might be mentioned in regards to the frequency of earthquakes, he mentioned.

An earthquake occurred in Uttarkashi in 1991 adopted by one in Chamoli in 1999 and one in Nepal in 2015.

Instead of fearing earthquakes as a consequence of their unpredictability, you will need to preserve ourselves ready to take care of them in a greater manner and minimise the harm they could trigger to life and property, he mentioned.

The constructions needs to be earthquake resistant, individuals needs to be made conscious of what might be finished by means of preparations earlier than earthquakes, on the time of their prevalence and after they’ve occurred, Paul mentioned.

Mock drills needs to be performed at the least as soon as yearly, he mentioned, including that if this stuff are finished, the damages by an earthquake might be decreased by 99.99 per cent.

Citing the instance of Japan, Paul mentioned as a consequence of its higher preparedness, the nation doesn’t undergo a lot harm to life and property regardless of being consistently hit by medium depth earthquakes.

He mentioned the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology additionally retains sending its groups to villages and faculties to create consciousness about what might be finished to minimise the results of an earthquake.

Another senior geo-physicist on the institute Naresh Kumar mentioned Uttarakhand has been positioned in seismic zone IV and V as a consequence of its vulnerability to earthquakes.

Around 60 earthquake observatories have been arrange in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand to register seismic actions around the clock, he mentioned.

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