Major Quake Of Magnitude 8 Likely To Hit North India, Says Chief Of Seismology Centre

Updated on: 24 November 2017 11:48 am

A major earthquake of magnitude 8 is due to hit Uttarakhand's Garhwal Himalaya which could afflict widespread damage in northern India, warned National Centre for Seismology Director Dr. Vineet Gehlot on Wednesday.

There has been no major tremor reported in the region for the last 600 years, but as minor earthquakes being witnessed in this area are releasing a small amount of energy, a severe jolt is expected.

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"Statistics indicate there is a possibility of a major earthquake in Uttarakhand in future. Reasons to believe so, no major earthquake has struck region in past 500-700 years and energy required to build major earthquakes is accumulating since 100 years," Director of National Centre for Seismology Dr. Vineet Gehlot told ANI.

Dr. Gehlot further warned that the maximum damage would be in the lowlands. However, the scientists present at the event also said that the amount of loss due to the earthquake can be reduced by building tremor-resilient infrastructure along the hilly areas.

He added that a lot of precautions needed to be taken such as following safe building codes and sound planning to minimize the impact of earthquakes.

What is an Earthquake?

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An earthquake happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault or fault plane. The location below the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter.

Predicting earthquakes is a touchy issue for scientists, in part because it has long been a game of con artists and pseudoscientists who claim to be able to forecast earthquakes. (Their declarations have, of course, withered under scrutiny.)

Scientists do have a good sense of where earthquakes could happen. Using historical records and geologic measurements, they can highlight potential seismic hot spots and the kinds of tremors they face.

Recently, an earthquake of magnitude 7.3 rocked the northern border region between Iran and Iraq, killing more than 407 people and injuring more than 6,700.