Nepal on Friday night experienced a severe earthquake measuring 6.4 magnitude on the Richter scale and strong tremors were felt in North India including Delhi-NCR, UP, Bihar, MP.
In last month, Nepal witnessed three earthquakes, while nearly 140 people succumbed to the third which occurred on November 3.
According to seismologist, Ajay Paul, this was just one of the earthquakes, as North India should be prepared for more aftershocks, which may go up to magnitude 8 on the Richter scale, as the seismic belt is active in the Himalayan region. “The study of the epicenter of the Friday earthquake revealed that there has been a large area releasing energy in the region,” he noted.
The seismologist said that the epicenter of the earthquake that occurred on Friday night was around Doti in Nepal. “Around this region itself an earthquake of 6.3 magnitude occurred in November 2022, leaving six people dead and many injured,” he informed.
He said that another earthquake occurred on October 3 this year in the same region in Nepal, which is in the middle of the Himalayan country. “Such a frequency of the occurrence of earthquakes reveal that many seismic belts are active,” they added.
Earlier, many geologists had predicted that a major earthquake could occur in the Himalayas at any time.
Paul said that in this area the Indian tectonic plate has continuously been moving towards the north.
“At the same time, it is also colliding with the Eurasian Plate, due to which pressure is building up and when the pressure is released in the form of energy, earthquakes occur, said Paul, who has previously worked at Wadia Institute of Himalayan,” he said, while informing about aftermath of the earthquake.
Paul told the news channel that the collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate started 40 to 50 million years ago.
He also revealed that the Indian Plate was moving northwards from the Indian Ocean and due to the collision, the Himalayas were formed and its height has continuously been increasing due to the collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates.
He said that the continuous pressure would be released by a big earthquake and if this happens, an earthquake of more than 8 magnitude on the Richter scale can occur, which will prove to be quite devastating.
“However, since there is no scientific tool available to accurately predict an earthquake, it is difficult to know when such a large tremor would actually hit the region,” Seismologist added.
