Howrah News Service -  Latest news and headlines on Howrah,West Bengal and World: Major quake may hit Kashmir

Major quake may hit Kashmir
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NewsByte on 24 March, 2008 09:05:02
 
By Our Special Correspondent
Srinagar, March 23: Geologists have cautioned that a major earthquake may hit
the Himalayan segment of Kashmir anytime.
"The horrible memories of the October 8, 2005 tremor may be still fresh in the
minds of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, but they need to get prepared for an
impending greater tremor which may hit the region anytime," said one of them.
The devastating earthquake that killed thousands of people and flattened
habitations on both sides of the Line of Control and in parts of Pakistan’s
North-West Frontier Province two-and-half years ago was of 7.6 magnitude. The
epicentre of that earthquake was Muzaffarabad, the capital city of
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
"Several studies have suggested increase in the static stress towards
north-west and south-east of the rupture zone of the October 8, 2005
Muzaffarabad earthquake. This is frightening news particularly for the millions
of people who live in the Kashmir Valley, which lies to the southeast and in
close vicinity of the rupture zone," said Dr M.I. Bhat, head, department of
geology and geophysics, University of Kashmir (KU) who worked as senior
scientist at the Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehra Dun, before shifting back
to his hometown to launch the new department on earth sciences at KU.
He said that the October 2005 earthquake only increased static stress toward
north-west and south-east of the epicentre of the quake-potentially advancing
the triggering of impending earthquake.