Bengaluru: One of the World's best earthquake experts Dr. C P Rajendran predicts that aftershocks of Saturday's earthquake are likely to continue for a month in the great Himalayan region.
Speaking to IBNLIVE from Bengaluru, he said "Once the earthquake happens aftershocks are normal. Because the faults have to be adjusted. Adjustments take place. Sometimes, the adjustments are larger. It can go on for months".
Dr. Rajendran along with Dr. Biju John is credited with accurately predicting the earthquake that shook Nepal and northern part of India on Saturday. They had predicted that a great earthquake may be due in the region, two months ago.
Commenting on the prediction he said "nobody can predict the earthquake accurately. Nowhere in the world, have we been able to do that. But, we had predicted that a great earthquake may occur in the Himalayan region of Nepal and India. It has happened now".
He termed the Nepal earthquake as a strong one and not the great one. He has also asked the people of Delhi not to worry too much about the current earthquake.
He said "certainly Delhi is vulnerable. It is prone to earthquakes. There can be a big disaster only if the earthquake is 8 magnitude on Richter scale. What we are feeling in Delhi is just aftershocks. No need to worry too much. It can continue like this for a month. But, the intensity and frequency will subside or come down over the weeks".
He blamed the unplanned and unregulated growth of cities and towns for the large scale destruction caused by the earthquake. He said "nobody can prevent or accurately predict the earthquake. It is a natural thing to happen. We can only minimize the loss. If the same earthquake takes place in America or Japan, the destruction will be less. Nepal's haphazard growth has led to the death of thousands of people and huge damage to properties. Unless we regulate growth in a proper way, we can't be safer. We can't blame earthquake for the loss".
Rajendran said that the Himalayan plains starting from Pakistan to Bengal is earthquake prone and there can be bigger earthquakes in the region in future.
In a research paper Rajendran, Kusala Rajendran and Biju John predicted the possibility of a big earthquake. They wrote "the frontal thrust in central Himalayas may have remained seismically inactive during the last 700 years. Considering this long elapsed time, a great earthquake may be due in the region".
(Dr. Rajendran is an expert at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bengaluru.)
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