According to the study, published in “Geological Journal”, there exists a chance for a high-magnitude earthquake in the Himalayas. The study, which is lead by seismologist CP Rajendran of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bengaluru, says the “enormous stacking up of strain in the region portends at least one earthquake of magnitude 8.5 or more in one of the overlapping segments of the central Himalayas anytime in the future”.
The analysis, the researchers say,
“compels us to conclude that a great earthquake of magnitude 8.5 or more that occurred between 1315 and 1440 had unzipped a stretch of about 600 km (the length of central seismic gap from Bhatpur to beyond Mohana Khola) in the central Himalayas with an average slip (or displacement) of 15 metres”.
The Researchers have made use of Imagery from ISRO’s Cartosat-1 satellite and Google Earth imagery along with local geology and structural map published by the Geological Survey of India.
“An earthquake of magnitude 8.5 or more is overdue in this part of the Himalayas, given the long-elapsed time.
Considering this potentially high seismic risk, this will be particularly catastrophic for a region marked by an ever-growing population and unhindered expansion of the built-up environment, to be contrasted with poor preparedness to meet this contingency,” Mr Rajendran told this correspondent.
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