Uttarkashi: From Yamuna Ghati to Barkot and Purola to Yamunotri, the hill state of Uttarakhand, on Saturday faced tremors due to an earthquake of magnitude 4.1 on the Richter Scale. The quake hit the Uttarkashi district at around 4:52 pm on Saturday, forcing people out of their houses in the process. The epicenter of the tremors has been located at a depth of 10 km below the surface.
There is no information regarding injury, or the loss of life and property, as of now. Uttarakhand falls under both earthquake-prone zones 4 (High damage risk zone) and 5 (Highest damage risk zone).
Uttarkashi, among others such as Rudraprayag (most part), Bageshwar, Pithoragarh, and Chamoli, falls under zone 5. According to researchers of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, under the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Government of India, consistent earthquakes in sensitive districts such as Uttarkashi occur due to tension between tectonic plates.
The Indian plate, as per experts, is moving 40 to 50 mm annually in the Himalayan region, leading to collisions with other plates, producing tremors in the process. They further noted that a major earthquake of 7.5 magnitudes every 100 years or so helps in releasing accumulated energy within the crust. In the event of this not taking place, continuous, smaller tremors lead to cracks developing on the surface.
