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After Nepal, 5.7 magnitude earthquake in Arunachal Pradesh: Tectonic plate not stable in Himalayan range, threat of major earthquake

November 11, 2022
Bharat Times

New Delhi20 minutes agoAuthor: M. Riaz Hashmi

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95 per cent of the country's 304 million homes could be hit by an earthquake. Photo- 2015 earthquake in Nepal. - Dainik Bhaskar

95 per cent of the country’s 304 million homes could be hit by an earthquake. Photo- 2015 earthquake in Nepal.

A day after the first 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck western Nepal, a 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck India’s Arunachal on Thursday. More than three aftershocks of low intensity earthquake hit Nepal in 48 hours. Now a shocking revelation has been revealed in the research of IIT Kanpur regarding earthquake.

According to this, an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 to 8.5 can occur in the Himalayan states of India. In 1803, such an earthquake has happened. This situation has arisen due to destabilization of tectonic plates in the Himalayan range.

The earthquake-prone areas are divided into four seismic zones.

  • Gen-5: Highest active, 11%
  • Zone-4: Highly active, 18%
  • Gen-3: Moderately active, 30%
  • Zone 2: Least Active, 61%
  • Zone 5: Kashmir, Western and Central Himalayas, North and Central Bihar, North-East Indian Region, Rann of Kutch and Andaman-Nicobar Islands.

Big earthquakes cannot happen in India, this thinking is wrong
Senior Prof., Department of Civil Engineering at IIT. Javed N Malik’s team has been researching earthquakes for a long time. “These types of earthquakes will continue for a long time due to destabilization of tectonic plates,” says Malik. Pvt. Malik said, ‘It is wrong to think that big earthquakes cannot happen in India.’

seismic zone map of india

  • 59% land in moderate or severe danger.
  • 95 percent of the country’s 304 million homes could be hit by earthquake

Pvt. Malik explains the importance of three points regarding the earthquake

  1. A major earthquake can occur in two states of the Himalayan range, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Its intensity can be 7.8 to 8.5.
  2. India is in the earthquake cycle zone and timeline. Peace in the Himalayan tectonic plate has been pointing to this for a long time.
  3. The effect of the earthquake of the Himalayan zone will be visible in the whole of North India. Garhwal and Kumaon areas of Uttarakhand are in the more red zone, which can become the epicenter of major earthquakes.

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