seismologists warned that a high-intensity tremor may jolt Guwahati anytime. Incidentally, this is the third tremor in 20 days.
"Three tremors in such a short span of time is really a matter of concern. We are sitting on such a seismically sensitive zone that a high-intensity quake may hit the region any moment. I'm really worried," said Basab Das, a Guwahati resident.
According to the Central Seismological Observatory in Shillong, Monday's quake measured 5.3 on Richter Scale with its epicentre at 25.4?N latitude and 94.8?E longitude along the Manipur-Nagaland-Myanmar border. The entire North-East is in the seismically active zone V, making it one of the most earthquake-prone areas in the world.
On August 19, an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter Scale had rocked parts of the North-East. The epicentre of the quake was located at Sonitpur in Assam between 26.6?N latitude and 92.5?E longitude. Another quake measuring 5.6 on the Richter Scale was recorded on August 12. This quake had its epicentre along the India-Myanmar border in Manipur.
The last time Assam experienced high-intensity quakes were in 1950 and 1897. These two earthquakes have caused major topographical changes, including a diversion in the course of some major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, in the state.
The Chandobi Lake near the city still stands testimony to the trail of the 1897 devastation. In R D Odham's memoirs of The Geological Survey of India, it is stated that, "At about quarter past five in the afternoon of 12th June, 1897, there burst on the Western portion of Assam an earthquake which for violence and extent has not been surpassed by any of which we have in historic record. Lasting about two and a half minutes, it had not ceased Shillong before an area of 150,000 square miles had been laid in ruins, all means of communications interrupted, the hills rent and cast down in landslips, and plains fissured and riddled with vents, from which sand and water poured in most astounding quantities......."
However, in both 1897 and 1950, human casualty and damage to property were less owing to a sparser population and the virtual absence of high-rises. Seismologists warned that if an earthquake of high magnitude strike now, the human casualty figure would be much higher as the population has increased manifold in comparison to 1897 and 1950.
Last year's seismic risk assessment under the microzonation studies in the icty had found its western part to be a seismically active zone. The study had been carried out with the involvement of multiple agencies, including Geological Survey of India, Central Ground Water Board, IIT-Roorkee, IIT-Kharagpur, and IIT-Guwahati among other. The report had been prepared after five years of extensive scientific investigation. The city's seismically high-hazard zone covers Lachitpur, Teteliya, Mirzapur, and Dekapara areas, including the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport. GUWAHATI: A moderate earthquake shook the North-East early on Monday, around 12.58 am, to be precise. Though no damage has been reported so far,
seismologists warned that a high-intensity tremor may jolt Guwahati anytime. Incidentally, this is the third tremor in 20 days.
"Three tremors in such a short span of time is really a matter of concern. We are sitting on such a seismically sensitive zone that a high-intensity quake may hit the region any moment. I'm really worried," said Basab Das, a Guwahati resident.
According to the Central Seismological Observatory in Shillong, Monday's quake measured 5.3 on Richter Scale with its epicentre at 25.4?N latitude and 94.8?E longitude along the Manipur-Nagaland-Myanmar border. The entire North-East is in the seismically active zone V, making it one of the most earthquake-prone areas in the world.
On August 19, an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter Scale had rocked parts of the North-East. The epicentre of the quake was located at Sonitpur in Assam between 26.6?N latitude and 92.5?E longitude. Another quake measuring 5.6 on the Richter Scale was recorded on August 12. This quake had its epicentre along the India-Myanmar border in Manipur.
The last time Assam experienced high-intensity quakes were in 1950 and 1897. These two earthquakes have caused major topographical changes, including a diversion in the course of some major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, in the state.
The Chandobi Lake near the city still stands testimony to the trail of the 1897 devastation. In R D Odham's memoirs of The Geological Survey of India, it is stated that, "At about quarter past five in the afternoon of 12th June, 1897, there burst on the Western portion of Assam an earthquake which for violence and extent has not been surpassed by any of which we have in historic record. Lasting about two and a half minutes, it had not ceased Shillong before an area of 150,000 square miles had been laid in ruins, all means of communications interrupted, the hills rent and cast down in landslips, and plains fissured and riddled with vents, from which sand and water poured in most astounding quantities......."
However, in both 1897 and 1950, human casualty and damage to property were less owing to a sparser population and the virtual absence of high-rises. Seismologists warned that if an earthquake of high magnitude strike now, the human casualty figure would be much higher as the population has increased manifold in comparison to 1897 and 1950.
Last year's seismic risk assessment under the microzonation studies in the icty had found its western part to be a seismically active zone. The study had been carried out with the involvement of multiple agencies, including Geological Survey of India, Central Ground Water Board, IIT-Roorkee, IIT-Kharagpur, and IIT-Guwahati among other. The report had been prepared after five years of extensive scientific investigation. The city's seismically high-hazard zone covers Lachitpur, Teteliya, Mirzapur, and Dekapara areas, including the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport.
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