Earthquake: Turkey and Syria have been devastated after three powerful earthquakes on Monday, killing more than 5,000 people and thousands of others wounded. Both nations fall in the seismic active Anatolian Plate which borders two major fault lines.
Though science and technology have progressed a lot, there is still no accurate system that can predict future earthquakes.
Not only Turkey, but in fact, various regions in India are at the highest risk of high-intensity earthquakes.
The intensity of earthquakes is categorised into 5 seismic zones namely: Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3, Zone 4, and Zone 5, while the last one being the most dangerous. However, in India, regions are divided into 4 seismic zones.
Regions in India at high risk of earthquakes
States including Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Jammu and Kashmir, and Andaman & Nicobar fall into Zone 5 and are prone to high-intensity earthquakes.
On January 26, 2001, Gujarat was hit by a high-intensity earthquake of magnitude 7.6 -- also known as the Bhuj earthquake -- that proved disastrous for the region and caused massive loss of life and property.
Minister of State for Science & Technology, Jitendra Singh in a 2021 Lok Sabha address had said that almost 59 per cent of the Indian landmass is prone to earthquakes of different intensities.
The central Himalayan region in the country falls into one of the most seismically active zones.
Even the country's national capital Delhi also falls into Zone 4 which is prone to frequent earthquakes.
Last year in November, scientists warned that there was a strong possibility of a high intensity earthquake in the Himalayan region in the future. The report mentioned that no one knows when it can happen. It could take place the next moment, next month or in 100 years. But the report emphasized on the need to have better preparation.
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