Earthquakes rank as one of the worst killers in the world. They have unique characteristics of striking without warning both in time and space. The surface of the earth sits on several gigantic tectonic plates that move by a few centimeters each year. These plates usually move against each other resulting in faults which become quite vulnerable. These stresses or faults break causing earthquakes.
The Indian sub-continent has a history of major earthquakes. In fact, geographical statistics show that at least 54 percent of India’s land is vulnerable to earthquakes. The Indian regions are divided into four seismic zones, 2,3,4 and 5. 2 being the lowest and 5 being the highest.
Coming to the types of earthquakes, there are five kinds depending upon their magnitude rated from 1 up to 9 on the Richter scale.
The first one being the micro earthquake which have their magnitude lesser than 2 on the Richter scale. The second one is a slight earthquake whose magnitude goes up to 4.9 wherein you can feel the quake. The third one is a moderate earthquake whose magnitude ranges between 5 and 6.9.
The fourth one is a great earthquake which ranges between 7 and 7.9 in magnitude. These have the potential of causing massive damage to both life and property. The fifth one if very great earthquake wherein the magnitude is 8 or more on Richter scale. These quakes are deadly in nature and can cause a catastrophe. In fact, anything beyond 9 is a tectonic destruction.
The year 2019 has just begun and India has already seen a number of earthquakes, out of which most of them have occurred in January and February. Most of these quakes have occurred in either Himachal Pradesh or Jammu and Kashmir region.
However, the interesting fact is that Palghar in Maharashtra is a coastal station which has been receiving earthquakes since the beginning of this year. In fact, from January to March 18, it has witnessed a total of 18 earthquakes. All of them were of magnitude 4 and below.
The reason for their occurrence has been attributed to the fact that underneath the Earth’s surface seismic energy keeps getting accumulated, which ultimately realizes. This realize of energy at times comes in small quantities and other times in less quantity. Whenever, they realize in small quantities and more numbers it is known as a swarm of earthquake, which is the scenario happening in Maharashtra’s Palghar region.
The occurrence of earthquakes also depends on the soil texture of the region, as is it very rare that earthquakes occur in areas with rocky surfaces. However, in regions where the soil is loose, the tendency of earthquakes also increases. Thus, we can say that Palghar being a coastal area has loose soil which results in the occurrence of frequent earthquakes over the region.
In fact, India’s Palghar has been observing similar earthquake conditions like America’s Alaska. This region in America is very prone to earthquakes. In the year 2019 itself, Alaska has witnessed 98 earthquakes till now. The intensity of these quakes ranged from mild to great earthquakes.
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Please Note: Any information picked from here must be attributed to skymetweather.com
