Vijayapura: After experiencing several mild tremors in just four days, the people of the district are scared and worried.
Among the seven earthquakes only four have been recorded in the seismometer and the remaining three are very low-intensity tremors. The earthquakes between the magnitude of 2.1 to 3.6 were recorded on the Richter Scale. The frequent earthquakes have not caused any damage to the buildings but people continue to live in fear.
Peter Alexander, Activist, said that “It has been over one and a half years that the various parts of the District are reporting frequent earthquakes. This has forced people to live in fear. The State Government has to carry out a detailed study to dig out the reasons behind the increasing tremors in the region.”
“The scientific study is the need of the hour for the Government to take necessary measures to control the possible damages if an earthquake occurs in high intensity in coming days. However, the District Administration has to create awareness and prevent panic among the public. The increasing tremors is not a good sign,” cautioned Activist Alexander.
After increasing quakes in the last four days, the District Administration has written a letter to the State Government stressing a geographical study from the experts and officials of Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre.
It may be noted that in the last two years at least 23 earthquakes have been reported in the region. The highest magnitude of 3.9 was recorded, where the epicentre has been reported from parts of border areas of Maharashtra and in various villages of the District. Though tremors are being recorded frequently no damages have been reported to any historical structures and Lal Bahadur Shastri Water Reservoir.
Srinivas Reddy, Senior Geologist, pointed out, “It is very difficult to understand the engineering beneath the earth’s crust. Despite having advanced equipment, it is impossible to forecast tremors. Few people are pitching various theories behind the increase in tremors in the District.”
“There is a possibility that because of hydro-seismicity, which is hypothesised as the reason for swarms in the peninsular area, water from heavy rainfall enters small fractures in rocks. This raises the pressure within them and leads to quakes. In and around Koyna Water Reservoir of Maharashtra similar natural calamities have been reported in the past.”
“There are very minimal chances of occurring high-frequency earthquakes in the region because Vijayapura is a vulnerable zone for micro-tremors. Of the 100 per cent earthquake reported over 85 per cent doesn’t record any kind of seismic activity. However, we cannot rule out the possibility of high-intensity earthquakes. People should be cautious,” appealed Geologist Reddy.
