With trending memes on social media “ye zyada ho raha hae” amidst, coronavirus pandemic, locust attack, cyclone Amphan, what does ten low to moderate intensity tremors, shaking the Delhi-NCR within the span of one and a half month actually means ?
Firstly, it is to be noted that Delhi falls under high-risk seismic zones and its border towns are witness to the development of high rise private buildings which is a cause of concern as most of them do not adhere to mandatory guidelines of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) being set for earthquake-resistant construction. The presence of high rise buildings in areas like Noida, Gurugram and neighbouring parts of Delhi blatantly violate the BIS norms.
What would happen if in case an earthquake of magnitude 5.5 or 6.0 hits the NCR?
Professor Chandon Ghose of IIT-Jammu, having expertise on earthquake engineering asserted that, “Friday’s (May 29) twin tremors which shook Delhi were measured at 4.5…but had it been a little more intense, the impact would have been serious. At Richter scale 6.0, the effect of the earthquake in Delhi would be devastating. Many buildings would be razed to dust,” reports, Live Mint.
Why are these earthquakes are being anticipated to bring a major earthquake?
“Most of these earthquakes were of low magnitude measuring from 2.3 to 4.5. However, a series of such earthquakes ostensibly warn of a major earthquake to hit Delhi in coming days. One of the reasons for increasing numbers of tremors hitting Delhi is that the local fault system here is quite active. Such fault systems around Delhi are capable of producing an earthquake of magnitude around 6 to 6.5,” asserted Dr A K Shukla, who is a former Head of Earthquake Risk Evaluation Centre of Indian Metrology Department.
What mitigation measures are required to combat the earthquakes ?”
“Our study recommends an urgent modification in existing building code. However, the government has yet to implement the report which underlines the new safety measures to be taken by authorities to secure people’s life and property in case a major earthquake hits the metro,” asserts, Dr Shukla.
