Are there similarities to earthquakes in India? Can energy from latent pressure be built up over the years?
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Are there similarities to earthquakes in India? Can energy from latent pressure be built up over the years?
Subject: Geography
Section: Physical geography (Geomorphology)
- The Indian Plate, colliding into the Eurasian plate and tilting upwards, created the Himalayas.
- The most common type of earthquake in the Himalayan region is due to reverse faults because of the compressive forces between the two plates.
- Scientists have long warned of a massive, overdue earthquake in the Garhwal-Kumaon range here because of what is known about the pattern of quakes in the region.
- The records of the last 300 or so years suggest that those earthquakes that have occurred haven’t released all the pent-up energy and that’s why geologists think a major one — maybe even an 8-magnitude one — is overdue.
- In the Turkey-Syria earthquakes, energy from nearly 300 years of accumulated strain was released.
How much does the magnitude of earthquakes correlate to the damage they inflict?
- The magnitude of the earthquake not exactly corresponds to the death and devastation.
- The impact of earthquakes can be reduced by:
- Proper implementation of laws and rules on the building code of that region.
- Proper awareness and rapid rescue plans.
- Construction as per the earthquake zone.
Case study:1
- Chile, a country with a long history of devastating earthquakes (over 9), is considered to be a model for earthquake preparedness.
- Despite experiencing earthquakes with magnitudes over 8 in 2014 and 2015 casualties are extremely minimal due to years of strictly enforcing building codes.
- This despite being a much poorer country than Japan, also known for its experience in earthquake-proofing structures.
Case study:2
- The 9-magnitude earthquake that caused a tsunami and a radiation leak in the nuclear power plant in the country’s Fukushima prefecture in 2011, didn’t damage the stability of the structure.