14 earthquakes in 2 months is no sign of a bigger one coming in future

Noida : Noida on Wednesday night experienced mild tremor that happens to be the 14th tremor in last two months, but this cannot be concluded as a warning to a bigger one coming in future days, say seismologists.

However, they said, monitoring the activities and getting prepared would be of no harm.

Scientists at the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) underlined that earthquakes cannot be forecast and the only thing to do is to be aware of the activities in vulnerable pockets such as the Delhi region.

So far, only two of the 14 quakes have been measured above magnitude 3.5.

"While these [minor earthquakes] may be because of activity in the local faults, we have to remember that north Delhi is close to the Himalayan belt where the Indian plate is subducting under the Eurasian plate. That region is seismically very active. We need to monitor even these small earthquakes critically because we do not know how much energy is there and how much has been released through these small events,” Hindustan Times quoted Kalachand Sain, who heads the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology. Subducting is the process by which one tectonic plate moves under another.

“We really need to understand the subsurface scenario now. Occasionally great earthquakes can happen and so we need to build infrastructure and buildings accordingly.”

A P Pandey, an NCS seismologist, told the publication that there have been numerous small earthquakes in Delhi and Haryana over the past three years and that a few have been above magnitude 4. “There are many faults and fissures in this region which could be active. In the past three years, there have been numerous small earthquakes in this region. Luckily, we did not see a much bigger earthquake …we are close to the Himalayas. The Himalayan plate is moving in the north-northeast direction and subducting beneath the Eurasian plate. So, there is a lot of energy along weak zones which are sometimes released through fissures and lineaments.”

The Himalayas are vulnerable to major earthquakes of over magnitude 8.

“Nobody can say when or where this energy will be released. So, it is best to be prepared. We have, however, identified vulnerable pockets,” Pandey said.