Is Delhi expecting a big earthquake anytime soon? National capital hit by 12 low-intensity tremors since June

Delhi has experienced yet another earthquake on Thursday, making it 12 earthquakes since June this year.

On December 17, an earthquake of magnitude 4.2 on the Richter Scale hit Delhi-NCR. According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences' National Centre for Seismology, the earthquake, with a depth of five km, had its epicentre near Alwar district in Rajasthan.

According to the National Centre for Seismology, the earthquake struck the area at 11.46 pm. The tremors prompted people to rush out of their houses even as the mercury dipped because of the cold wave. The tremors were felt in parts of Delhi, Noida and Gurugram.

According to geologists, the national capital falls in seismic zone IV - a very high-risk zone and the likelihood of big earthquakes is very high.

The series of earthquakes that hit the national capital this year has made people fearful. The possibility of an earthquake with higher seismicity is not out of bounds.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, Delhi experiences tremors even when an earthquake occurs as far as in Central Asia or the DeHimalayan ranges. Further, an earthquake in Delhi is quite alarming because of its  large population and high density.   

However, an earthquake with its epicentre in Delhi could prove to be quite catastrophic for its people.

In June, the Dehradun-based Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), an institute under Union Science and Technology Ministry said that a strong earthquake in the national capital cannot be ruled out.

"The recent events cannot be defined as foreshocks. If a big earthquake takes place in a region, all smaller events that occurred in the immediate past at that region are categorized as the foreshocks. Therefore, scientifically all these tremors in the Delhi-NCR can be demarcated as the foreshocks only after a big earthquake takes place immediately," it stated.

"Though it cannot be predicted, a stronger earthquake posing a threat to people and properties cannot be ruled out. Since an earthquake cannot be predicted by any mechanism, the tremors cannot be described as the signal of a big event.

"WIHG also stated that earthquakes are not predictable but there lies a probability of a large to great earthquake with magnitude 6 and more in the highest seismic potential zone V and IV, which fall in the entire Himalaya and Delhi-NCR."The only solution to minimise the loss of lives and properties is the effective preparedness against the earthquake," it said

On May 10, a magnitude 3.4 earthquake hit Delhi0, which was the second strongest earthquake that hit this year after the earthquake that hit on Thursday.