If you are a resident of Delhi then you must have addressed various earthquakes there, in the last two to three months. It’s happening there frequently in these months and that also with relatively high intensity from the previous shocks, which is a matter of concern for those living there. Are these frequent waves are an indicator of any big disaster? Since April, Delhi and nearby areas have recorded 13 earthquakes of low and medium intensity. Reason for the frequent earthquake in Delhi- Delhi-NCR comes under the high-risk zone. Fault lines are present in Delhi-NCR.
According to the macroseismic zoning map of India, around 30% of Delhi falls under zone 5(very high risk), while rest is under zone 4 (high risk). In the area where there is a high risk of earthquakes, the stress in the lower surface of earth increase in hundreds of year. This is caused by the movement of tectonic plates, but the effect of stress is not only sudden but slowly. First, the earth remains calm for a long time, then the layer start moving in some time, and this process is repeated again and again.
Is Delhi due to a massive earthquake in the future? There’s no clear answer since earthquake still cannot be predicted with a degree of certainty In a paper, published on December 2013, “The ~500 km long ‘Central Himalayan Seismic Gap’ of northwest India is the largest section of the Himalaya that has not experienced a very large earthquake in past 200-500 years.” Indicating it’s building a strain that it could later release in one large burst. The last time the Central Himalayan Gap (CHG) experienced a quake was in 1803, and before that in 1505.
DELHI STANDING ON DANGER LINE
Delhi has developed in a very clumsy way. The construction of colonies here is quite dense. Two-third of the capital population live in illegally constructed houses. A few years ago a building collapsed in Lakshmi Nagar without an earthquake raise a question over the quality of the building. Areas on the bank of the Yamuna in Delhi comes under the maximum danger. So, in this situation it’s the duty of both the state and central government, to initiate a full-proof program to strengthen the National Capital in a way so, that it will stand against any big disaster in coming future.
