Minor earthquakes in Delhi-NCR are not unusual, the director of seismology centre said

There is no need to panic due to the recent earthquakes in Delhi-NCR but it is vital to undertake preparedness and take precautionary measures, Director of the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) BK Bansal has said.

Speaking at a meeting convened by the National Disaster Management Authority on Wednesday, Mr Bansal said given the seismic history of Delhi, minor earthquakes in Delhi-NCR are not unusual, according to a Home Ministry statement.

There is no need to panic but it is important to undertake preparedness and mitigation measures to reduce the risks, he said, adding there is no proven technology in the world to predict earthquakes with certainty in terms of location, time and magnitude.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has requested the state governments to take steps that included ensuring compliance of building bye-laws to make upcoming constructions earthquake resilient and avoid addition of vulnerable building stock.

It suggested them to identify the vulnerable structures, especially lifeline buildings, and retrofit them. Private buildings should also be retrofitted in a phased manner.

The NDMA advised the state governments to conduct regular mock exercises and come out with SoPs for immediate response after an earthquake.

Undertake public awareness programmes regarding “dos and don’ts” during an earthquake, it said.

The meeting, convened to discuss the various mitigation and preparedness measures to reduce the earthquake risk in Delhi-NCR region, was attended through voice conferencing by NDMA members, Director General of the National Disaster Response Force and senior officers of Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Nearly a dozen low-intensity earthquakes have jolted the Delhi-NCR region in last three months.