Major earthquake likely in Uttarakhand: Seismology experts

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New Delhi: A major earthquake in Uttarakhand may occur in the future with a Seismology expert saying that statistics show the possibility of a big disaster lurking round the corner.

According to Dr Vinnet Gehlot, Director of National Centre for Seismology, a lot of energy has been accumulating under the land which may lead to an earthquake. "Statistics indicate there is a possibility of a major earthquake in Uttarakhand in future. (There are) Reasons to believe so, no major earthquake has struck (the) region in past 500-700 yrs and energy required to build major earthquakes has been accumulating for 100s of years," he told news agency ANI.

The last time there was an earthquake in the state was in February this year when the epicentre was found to be in Rudraprayag district. The 5.1 magnitude quake injured one and resulted in several buildings developing cracks.

Dr Gehlot warned that a number of steps need to be in place to ensure damage from earthquakes in the future can be kept to a minimum. "A lot of precautions need to be taken like following safe building codes and sound planning to minimize the impact of earthquakes," he said.