Earthquake Risk Signs of Nature Should Not be Ignored

In this article, Baseera Rafiqi talks about earthquake risk factors in Jammu and Kashmir while reiterating that ignoring signs of nature could prove detrimental for the region in the long run.

- Baseera Rafiqi

Owing to the topography of the region, Kashmir has been a witness to a protracted history of earthquakes, which have caused tremendous damage and experts believe that worst is yet to come. The region is jelled between massive mountains that constrict its easy passage from all the sides. Since the 2005 earthquake that affected lives and property across borders, the region has experienced many major and minor strokes.

‘We don’t feel all the jolts as they are low in intensity, only tremors above 4 on the Richter scale are felt by people,’ says Farooq Bhat, Assistant Meteorologist, Jammu and Kashmir. According to Bhat, most of the earthquakes felt by the people of Valley had their epicentre near the Hindu Kush. ‘Hindu Kush was the epicentre of most of the quakes that were felt in the past year. Overall, the number of quakes has remained the same, it is just that there is less time gap between the two consecutive tremors and that’s why people feel that their frequency has increased,’ added Bhat.

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