Strong earthquake in Delhi cannot be ruled out, says WIHG

An earthquake cannot be predicted by any mechanism, hence smaller tremors cannot be explicitly described as foreshocks, said the Dehradun based institute.

Recent tremors in the national capital region do not signal a big event, although a strong earthquake cannot be ruled out, according to Dehradun-based Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), an institute under Union Science and Technology Ministry.

“The recent events cannot be defined as foreshocks. If a big earthquake takes place in a region, all smaller events that occurred in the immediate past at that region are categorized as the foreshocks. Therefore, scientifically all these tremors in the Delhi-NCR can be demarcated as the foreshocks only after a big earthquake takes place immediately,” it stated.

“Though it cannot be predicted, a stronger earthquake posing a threat to people and properties cannot be ruled out. Since an earthquake cannot be predicted by any mechanism, the tremors cannot be described as the signal of a big event.”

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WIHG also stated that earthquakes are not predictable but there lies a probability of a large to great earthquake with magnitude 6 and more in the highest seismic potential zone V and IV, which fall in the entire Himalaya and Delhi-NCR.

“The only solution to minimise the loss of lives and properties is the effective preparedness against the earthquake,” it said.

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