A week before the massive earthquake that destroyed large portion of Nepal in April, scientists had converged in Kathmandu, the nation's capital, to save the poorly planned region from an earthquake they knew was coming. They were 7 days away from total catastrophe. Seismic activity analysis in the region has shown that the region is a hotbed of accumulated energy. this was again seen in the in the 32 earthquakes that rocked the world today, mostly with this region as its epicenter, as per US Geological Survey data.
Here are the maps of the earthquake affected zones taken live from the site today.
9 earthquakes took place in India's vicinity on May 12. Image: USGS
Epicentres of Earthquake and aftershocks in Nepal. Image: USGS
reuters
In February this year, earthquake experts had predicted an earthquake across India's Gangetic Plain, by analysing ground scars in the region. The region's seismic history was also a sign- this is the 5th biggest earthquake in Kathmandu in the last 205 years. The problem wasn't the earthquake, but its aftermath, due to Nepal¡¯s 6.5% population growth rate, and its status as one of the world¡¯s highest urban densities. Lack of building codes led people to cluster in non-engineered homes without concern to earthquake safety.?
reuters
According to what Harsh K Gupta (former director of the Hyderabad-based National Geophysical Research Institute) believes, April 25¡¯s Nepal earthquake is just the tip of the iceberg. ¡°We know there is a huge amount of accumulated strain in this area. It is due for a major earthquake, perhaps a series of earthquakes, bigger than 8 on the Richter scale.¡± He told Indian Express. But there¡¯s more energy stored in the region than was let out by the earthquake.?
How much energy? The math is terrifying. According to him:?
April25¡¯s Nepal earthquake = released energy ¡°equivalent to about 100mn tons of TNT¡±
But this 100 million ton output is only 5% of the energy
So there is energy which equals to billions of tons
Further, a magnitude 9 earthquake has 32 times more energy than a 8 point earthquake. Senior scientist Sankar Kumar Nath of IIT Kharagpur believes a 9 pointer is possible. ¡°I would be very happy to have a few 7.9-magnitude earthquakes than a 9-magnitude earthquake which would be absolute disaster.¡± He told Indian Express.
Here's some other massive earthquakes that might be heading our way.
ucsd
California might be hit by a magnitude 8 or greater earthquake in the coming decades, according to the US Geological Survey. The Southern San Andreas fault line might host the earthquake.
gilww1
Bihar has faced moderate to severe earthquakes on a regular basis, and its seismic zones make 8.4 magnitude earthquakes a possibility. It is also adjacent to Nepal, and this region has the highest risk zone. In the last 200 years, Bihar has seen 25 earthquakes above 5.4 magnitudes. The last major quake here (6.6 magnitude) killed over 1,500 people and caused landslides and damage in August 1988.
Vijaywada has already seen 159 earthquakes, and last year, when Vijaywada being considered Hyderabad's capital, scientists stepped in to prevent it. According to them, there are regions here which are not not even suitable for single-storied buildings. IIT Hyderabad researchers declared that there are about 26 faults in a 300 km radius, which can trigger off tremors. Even an average earthquake can harm the coastal city, and the soil would suddenly lose its strength and stiffness, causing buildings to topple
cnnturk
Ronald Karel is a Turkish-French NASA scientist who successfully predicted an earthquake 5 days before it hit. His method: examining cloud movements. He told NASA headquarters on the January 12 of an 5.0 Richter scale earthquake that was going to hit Turkey's Central Aegean-Eastern Marmara region. According to him, a stable large cloud formation implied an earthquake, which is what happened - a 4.3 magnitude earthquake hit the Turkey's Eskisehir province on January 17.?