Strong earthquake cannot be ruled out in Delhi: Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology

 Recent tremors in the national capital region do not signal a big event, although a strong earthquake cannot be ruled out, according to Dehradun-based Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), an institute under Union Science and Technology Ministry.

"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