Hyderabad: Amid a rising toll from the massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria, a top geologist based in Hyderabad has said that there is a possibility of an earthquake in Uttarakhand's Joshimath where the recent land subsidence damaged hundreds of houses. The forecast was made by Purnachander Rao, Chief Scientist of the Earthquake Research Center at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) in Telangana capital Hyderabad on Tuesday.
Purnachander Rao was interacting with the media in Hyderabad in the backdrop of the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria in which the death toll has already surpassed 11,000. “There is a possibility of an earthquake in Joshimath. More earthquakes are likely to occur in the flanks around the Himalayas," Rao said.
Also read: Turkiye, Syria quake death toll nears 10,000, deadliest in decades
He said that after 1934 no major earthquake occurred in Nepal and Uttarakhand which points to the rising tensions in the tectonic plates. "Severe earthquakes occurred there in 1897, 1905, 1934. After 1934 no major earthquake occurred in Nepal and Uttarakhand. There is a possibility of earthquakes in those areas in the future,” Purnachander Rao said.
Although the government has set the standards and guidelines for high-rise buildings to withstand the intensity of earthquakes, Rao said that the policy was not implemented on the ground. “There is a possibility of making old buildings stronger by retrofitting them to withstand earthquakes," explained Purnachander Rao.
On high death toll in the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, Rao attributed it to the powerful magnitude of the earthquake and its occurrence at night when people were sleeping. The epicenter of the quake was at a depth of 18 km.
