Massive earthquakes can hit the Himalayan region any time, warns NGRI chief scientist

As a massive earthquake struck Afghanistan, Pakistan and India on Tuesday night, people were hit with fresh fears, especially as the memories of the Turkey-Syria quake are still fresh in everyone's minds. Following the devastating quake on February 6, experts warned that the Himalayan region can witness a huge quake in the near future.

Massive earthquakes with the potential to cause damage in the Himalayan region in the near future were predicted by the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) on February 21. However, healso said that both property loss and death can be averted by building sturdy structures, as reported by ANI.

DrN Purnachandra Rao, the chief scientist at NGRI, told ANIthat the Indian plate is shifting roughly fivecentimetreseach year, which is causing tension to build up along the Himalayas. The Earth's surface is made up of numerous plates that are continuouslyin motion.

"We have a strong network of 18 seismograph stations in Uttarakhand. The region referred to as the seismic gap between Himachal and the western part of Nepal including Uttarakhand is prone to earthquakes that might occur at any time," added Dr N Purnachandra Rao.

The NGRI scientist emphasised that earthquakes can have a Richter Scale magnitude of up to 8.

Speaking of the recent fatal earthquakes in Turkey, he claimed that the country suffered greater damage as a result of the subpar construction.

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"We can't stop earthquakes but we can prevent loss. There are guidelines issued by the Government of India for the construction of buildings in these earthquake-prone areas, so the public should follow those guidelines," he advised.

(With inputs from agencies)

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