Priya Aditi
Tuesday at 2.51 p.m., a magnitude 6.2 earthquake with its epicentre in Nepal caused disturbances throughout north India, including Delhi-NCR, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. Initial estimates by the National Center for Seismology placed the depth of the earthquake at 5 kilometers.
“A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck west Nepal. Approximately 200 kilometers southeast of Joshimath. This is at a shallow depth, so strong tremors have been felt throughout northern India, according to NCS office director JL Gautam.
“A vast area is likely to experience tremors when the depth is great but the magnitude is relatively low. However, the converse is also true, as is the case here, where the depth is shallow but the magnitude is so great that vibrations were felt. It lasted between ten and fifteen seconds,” explained Gautam.
“There are numerous faults in the Himalayas. It is a tectonically active region. “We are investigating which errors are involved,” Gautam said.
According to NCS data, the 6.2-magnitude quake was preceded by a 4.6-magnitude quake at 2.25 p.m. and followed by two additional aftershocks at 3.06 p.m. (3.6 magnitude) and 3.19 p.m. (3.1 magnitude).
The Himalayan region, seismically one of the most active continental regions, experienced at least four magnitude 8 earthquakes during an active phase from 1897 to 1952, according to a paper titled “Himalayan Earthquakes and Developing an Earthquake Resilient Society” published in Journal of Geological Society of India in 2020.
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The region is currently in a seismic quiescence phase, and sufficient strains have accumulated, but it is still difficult to predict when and where the next major earthquake will occur.
