A retired geologist from Thane says that as per past research Palghar comes under seismic zone number 3, and the seismic activity needs to be investigated as it is shifting south of Palghar towards Panvel.
The minor earthquake tremors in Palghar in the past few days have raised an alert among the citizen and the administration. While a team of experts from India Meteorological Department (IMD) will visit the area next week, a retired geologist from Thane says that as per past research Palghar comes under seismic zone number 3, and the seismic activity needs to be investigated as it is shifting south of Palghar towards Panvel.
According to IMD, there were two earthquakes in Palghar on the night of December 2. The tremors were felt within a gap of 10 minutes; first one at 1.38 am and the second one at 1.48 am from the same location. The magnitude of these earthquakes was 3.1 and 2.9 on the Richter magnitude scale respectively. According to Dr V Subramanyan, a retired geologist from IIT Bombay, earthquakes on the scale of 3 are nothing to worry about.
The seismic activity in Palghar is nothing new as it falls under seismic zone 3. On September 4, 2012, the residents of Jawahar in Palghar had heard rumbling noises which were then investigated by experts from IIT Bombay.
"The entire West Coast plain from north of Mumbai down to Kanyakumari in the south falls in the seismic zone 3. Which means that earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 to 6.5 are possible anytime at any place along the western coastal plain. Jawhar and Murbad fall in this zone," he said.
Dr Subramanyan has done an integrated study for the Maharashtra government along with a team of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) scientists and Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) in 2000 for five years. "During our study, we found out that the seismic activities have been shifting southwards of Jawahar towards Kalyan, Taloja and Panvel," says Subramanyan.
On July 13 this year, minor earthquake tremors were felt in Kalyan on the Richter scale of 2.8. Subramanyan says that it is Thane creek which is acting as a buffer zone and preventing the seismic activity to proceed towards Mumbai.
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