Gujarat and Delhi recently witnessed earthquakes, which are supposedly tied to several earthquakes and fore-shocks that have occurred globally in 2020. On 14th June alone there were more than 20 earthquakes of 4+ magnitude across the globe.
Crux of the Matter
2001 Bhuj Deja Vu According to the National Center for Seismology (NCS), an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter Scale took place in Rajkot, Gujarat on 14 June. The tremors were felt in cities like Kutch, Rajkot, Ahmedabad, and Patan with no immediate casualties reported. It was followed by a 4.4 magnitude earthquake the very next day with the epicenter also being very close to that of the previous day. Even though the damage was limited to cracked walls in Kutch, Morbi, and Rajkot, locals were rattled as they were reminded of the killer Bhuj Earthquake of Gujarat, which had a devastating magnitude of 7.7 and took more than 20,000 lives in 2001.
Top 10 earthquakes in India till date
Delhi A Hotspot Of Earthquakes? 17 minor earthquakes have been recorded in NCR in the last 2 months, the most powerful one being of magnitude 4.9. The detection of earthquakes also depends on the number of seismic recorders installed in that area. Delhi has the highest number of seismometers (16) anywhere in the country (115), more than the Himalayan region which is seismically more active.
(2/2) Already with an over-strained medical system, the incoming of, as experts say, a mightier earthquake might add to their Covid-19 troubles.#delhi #earthquakedelhi #earthquakeindelhi @LtGovDelhi @moesgoi pic.twitter.com/B00Ct5EapG — Summachar – News that Matters (@summachar_in) June 9, 2020
When a big event happens, all the smaller earthquakes that have occurred in that region in the near past are classified as foreshocks. There have been speculations of a bigger one coming after these foreshocks. Harsh Gupta, earthquake expert and a former director of NGRI (National Geophysical Research Institute) dismissed them, stating that the identification of correct precursors to an earthquake isn’t scientifically possible yet.
Tectonic Plates of Indian Ocean Splitting Up? Located under the Indian ocean, a huge plate of the Earth’s crust is undergoing a tectonic shift, the movement which signifies it’s split up and eventual breakup.
Map of the Day: Krakatau repeatedly has arisen from the sea and explosively collapsed, only to be born again. It lies on the collision zone of two tectonic plates on the great firing line where the Indian Ocean's crust dives beneath Asia. This map appeared in the June 1985 issue. pic.twitter.com/zq7vfsOGwP — NatGeoMaps (@NatGeoMaps) June 19, 2019
Researchers have compiled a map of the seabed wherein they found many depressions that occur only in collisions or sliding plates, with the dimensions being 5 km in length and 3 km in width. Moreover, a pattern of increased activity has been observed in the South basin rather than the North basin. The reported divergence of this Indo-Australian plate began long ago due to continuous tectonic movements. Now, as the crack deepens, a rift is appearing.
Curiopedia
Robert Mallet was an Irish geophysicist and civil engineer who distinguished himself in research on earthquakes and is sometimes called the father of seismology. His son, Frederick Richard Mallet was a geologist who worked in India.
The epicenter in seismology is the point on the Earth’s surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. The term was coined by Robert Mallet.
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tōhoku was a magnitude 9.0–9.1 (Mw) undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan. It was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan, and the fourth most powerful earthquake in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900.
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