A few days ago, on November 9, residents of Delhi-NCR reported tremors during the night. This earthquake had a magnitude of 6.3 on the Richter scale. Three days after the incident, on the afternoon of November 12, tremors of magnitude 5.7 were felt again. These were 2 earthquake incidents in the same week. Also, recently a 4.1 magnitude earthquake hit Himachal Pradesh. Why are news about earthquakes becoming more common these days? Are there things to worry about? Here you have all the explanations you want to know.
The northern states of the country, including Punjab and Delhi, have experienced frequent tremors in recent days. Recently, people in Delhi and NCR regions have felt two consecutive high magnitude tremors in the same week.
If we look at the records of the last few decades, many earthquakes have also affected Delhi NCR. The frequency of these earthquakes is gradually increasing. Now, the burning question is why these earthquakes are becoming more common. Before knowing this answer, let’s first understand why earthquakes occur!
Why do earthquakes occur? Briefly explained!
Image source: DK Discover
Remember your school geography classes. The reason earthquakes occur lies in the Earth’s tectonic plates. When tectonic plates beneath the Earth’s surface move relative to each other, earthquakes occur.
Now, why are earthquakes becoming common in India?
There are some specific reasons behind the increasing frequency of earthquakes in the country. The country faces frequent earthquakes in the northern and northeastern regions due to the fact that some parts of Nepal and India are situated on the boundary (fault zones) of two major tectonic plates.
When the Indian plate approached the Nepalese plate, the Himalayas were formed. While the formation of the Himalayas was good news, the collision of these two plates made both India and Nepal more prone to earthquakes.
Finally, let’s talk about Delhi-NCR.
Now, the last question we are going to answer is why earthquakes are becoming common in Delhi-NCR.
Let’s consider this fact. Delhi is located on the Sohna fault, the Delhi-Moradabad fault and the Mathura fault. All three are active seismic faults.
In the case of Gurgaon, the region is located on not one or two, but a total of seven fault lines, making Gurgaon the most dangerous part of Delhi-NCR when it comes to earthquakes.
Now, Delhi has always been vulnerable to earthquakes, as it is located in the fourth highest seismic zone out of a total of five classified by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
However, an encouraging, if not good, news is the fact that Delhi has not become the epicenter of any earthquake so far, nor is it likely to become so in the future.
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Earthquake again! Two earthquakes were felt this week in Delhi and neighboring areas!
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: ptivs2.edu.vn