Tag Archives: earthquake

Education, Research Paper, Science and Technology

The harsh move of nature – tsunamis and earthquake

Do you know that the 2004 Tsunami had killed over 225 thousand people in 14 different countries? It’s so sad to hear, but that’s the reality when such a natural calamity appears in, and there’s no way to stop it unless if predicted in advance. The tsunami on the day of Christmas 2004 had a significant impact on the people, and the news media coverage correspondents were in shock. It did happen all of a sudden, with a maximum rise of water up to 100 feet.

On the other hand, the most massive scale on record for earthquakes recorded in Chile with a magnitude of 9.5. If there is any similar incident with a higher range of 11.0 ever happens, the Earth may split into two halves. Now the 2004 event was complemented with an earthquake of 9.1 magnitudes on the western coast in Sumatra, Indonesia. These bring tears to eyes when we hear the survival stories; how they manage to get out in such a situation is a courageous task.

Human abundance has increased so much, they’re building infrastructure everywhere.

Why do these incidents happen, and how does it originate? In short, the water present in the ocean is ultimately linked to the bottom of the Earth, to be precise, the mantle where the plate boundaries are also present. When there is a vigorous movement of water, this leads to magma production, continental crust formation, several mineral resources but also an earthquake.

Most of the researches was on the Ring of Fire mentioned in my earlier post. This area is in the Pacific Ocean. But, findings by the University of Bristol keep concerns on the Atlantic plate and the eastern sides of the Caribbean Sea. These will help us to know how it works and how it leads to an earthquake. Scientists gathered data from two marine cruise ships, which recorded the seismic activities on the temporary station with the necessary information of the rock samples etc.

To know the role of the water in a subduction zone (an area where tectonic plates intermixes with one plate and sinks), they did a study on the composition of Boron element and found that serpentine, a mineral rock supplies water to the central regions in the Caribbean Sea as mentioned earlier.

The aftermath of an earthquake. Who will recover the losses?

If such an incident takes place soon, are we prepared for the same? I hope it doesn’t happen, but an estimate says that almost everyone in this world has no proper disaster management plan. The problem is that people immediately panic and take wrong steps leading to their death. For example, you should know the fire exits of the premises in which you currently live. Around 50 earthquakes are happening around the world, all of them are not noticeable, but the major ones create loss to human lives and destruction of several infrastructures, historical monuments, etc.

It would be best if you always kept a list of emergency contacts in a diary or somewhere saved on your smartphones. Now the devices are much smarter; even most of the device manufacturers do include the SOS panic button so that you get help immediately. Be prepared for the worst, and stay safe.

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Research Paper

A MAJOR EARTHQUAKE ON CARDS IN DELHI- NCR

*As per the collective statement of subject experts  

The occurrence of eleven, low magnitude earthquakes in and around Delhi in the last three months has become a matter of curiosity, and concern, for some, who are inquisitive to know the implications of this sudden change in earth’s behavior.

Experts of IIT Dhanbad have urged the Governments to ensure preventive measures as a major earthquake might shake the national capital and its adjoining areas in upcoming days. PK Khan a professor at applied geophysics department of IIT Dhanbad opined that recurrent tremors of small magnitudes predict a major earthquake. He asserted that time has come for the Centre and Delhi governments to take all required measures of prevention and create awareness.  

Some of the top geologists of the country have said that eleven earthquakes of low to moderate intensity have hit Delhi-NCR in the last 3 months, which indicates that a devastating earthquake may strike the National Capital in near future. Delhi is also close to the Himalayas where several earthquakes of more than magnitude 8 have occurred. There is a possibility of a few major tremors in the Himalayan region which can severely affect Delhi-NCR as shown by studies. 

 From April 12 to June 13, ten earthquakes have been recorded in Delhi-NCR by N.C.S (National Centre for Seismology). Four tremors in Uttarakhand and 6 in Himachal Pradesh were also recorded.  

“We cannot predict exact time, place or exact scale, but do believe that there is a regular seismic activity going around in the NCR region and may trigger in a major earthquake in Delhi,” asserted Dr. Kalachand Sain, Chief at Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, an autonomous institute, run under DST (Ministry of Science and Technology).

Dr. AK Shukla, ex-Head of Earthquake Risk Evaluation, Indian Metrology Department said, “Most of these earthquakes were low magnitude earthquakes measuring from 2.3 to 4.5. A series of such earthquakes ostensibly warn of a major earthquake to hit Delhi in the coming days. An obvious reason for increasing numbers of tremors hitting Delhi is the local fault system, which is quite active. Such fault systems around Delhi have the potential of producing an earthquake of magnitude around 6 to 6.5.”

According to reports, most of the buildings constructed in Delhi are not earthquake resistant and may get severely damaged in case of high magnitude tremors.

Why A Major Earthquake Will Be Catastrophic For Delhi

Delhi’s population has seen a rapid growth of 11.5 times in the past 70 years. If an earthquake-like 1720 recurs, the loss to life and property could be humungous in today’s Delhi.

The occurrence of eleven, low magnitude earthquakes in and around Delhi in the past three months has become a matter of concern. The reality is subject experts refrain from making a prediction as to whether the phenomenon is a sort of a trailer for something bigger in-store, or just a swarm of harmless micro-tremors, which would fade away into oblivion with passage of time. It would be reasonable to conduct the issue on scientific lines after rummaging through the existing database of events.

Talking in geological terms, Delhi is situated at the interface of old metamorphic rock sequence and very young alluvial sediments that have been deposited over the Indian lithosphere in response to the tectonic movements of the Himalaya. This region is located on the intersection of two regional sub-surface structures named Delhi-Haridwar Ridge and Delhi-Sargodha Ridge. The former is placed between two faults viz Mahendragarh-Dehradun Subsurface Fault and Great Boundary Fault (GBF) that are 200 km apart.

Understanding the importance of the NCR and its seismic status, it is classed in high damage risk zone IV, The IMD established a seismic telemetry network of sixteen field observatories during 1998-2000. This network has recorded 422 seismic events in the period from 2005 to 2012, the majority being tremors with a magnitude less than 3.0. This recent disturbance in the natural movement of plates is regarded somewhat out of bound for a logical explanation. We will have to wait and watch while taking all the necessary measures.