Himalayan region vulnerable to earthquakes: Experts

Srinagar, Mar 22: Stating that Jammu & Kashmir among many areas are highly vulnerable to earthquakes, the experts here on Wednesday said that instead of panicking, there is a need to come up with earthquake resistant human infrastructure that leads to the loss of lives and damage to the properties.
Pertinently, an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale occurred on late Tuesday night in Jammu and Kashmir, triggering panic among the people.
A prominent Seismologist, Prof. Ghulam Jeelani (Department of Earth Sciences, University of Kashmir), said that nobody can prevent earthquakes anywhere across the globe as it is a natural phenomenon, which would continue to take place.
“J&K being one among the regions that are highly vulnerable to the earthquakes would witness jolts again and again. Whenever the stress accumulates, the energy gets generated and thus gets released in the shape of earthquakes,” he said.
He added that no one can stop the occurrence of earthquakes, but there is a need to come up with the human infrastructure, which is earthquake resistant. “It is a fact that no one loses life due to earthquakes, but it is the human infrastructure that leads to the loss of lives as well as the property damage. Once people opt for taking all preventive measures while constructing their buildings, such incidents will also stop,” he said.
However, he said that there is a need to follow dos and don’ts in spirit during earthquakes to ensure safety.
As per the reports, around 60 earthquakes will hit J&K and Ladakh in 2022. The National Center for Seismology (NCS) data shows that J&K parts have felt tremors 9 times in March, 2023 so far.
Prof Shakil Romshoo, an earth scientist, said that the entire Himalayan region, including Jammu and Kashmir has been historically vulnerable to earthquakes.
He said that the region has witnessed several mega earthquakes in the past. “Therefore, the government, civil societal and individuals should work hard to build a culture of disaster preparedness in the society in order to minimise human and infrastructure damage in the eventually of a high magnitude earthquake,” he said.