PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Ramnagar
An earthquake alert system will soon be operational in Ramnagar from where sirens will go off as soon as seismic activity is detected, allowing residents to prepare in advance. The Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority has earmarked the land within the tehsil premises to house the seismic observatory. Construction work is set to begin shortly.
As per the National Centre for Seismology under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, eight seismic observatories will be set up across Uttarakhand: Haridwar, Tehri, Chamoli, Nainital, Bageshwar, Almora, Rudraprayag and Dehradun districts.
The Ramnagar SDM, Pramod Kumar informed that, apart from the seismic observatory, a rain gauge has also been installed in the tehsil premises. Along with Ramnagar, seismic observatories are also being set up in Roorkee, Devprayag, Karnaprayag, Bageshwar, Almora, Kedarnath, and Chakrata.
A seismic observatory monitors earthquakes and related seismic activities, measuring their time, location, and magnitude.
On February 10, 2020, a team of geologists led by Prof Javed Malik from IIT Kanpur had surveyed the Nandpur Gaibua area near Ramnagar using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), GPS and satellite technology. Their research revealed that a powerful earthquake measuring between 7 and 8 magnitude had struck the region in 1505. Experts believe that areas hit by such high-intensity quakes often experience another major earthquake every 500–600 years.
Findings also confirmed that Ramnagar lies on a fault line, making it highly vulnerable. If a major earthquake were to strike now, the Terai region could face devastating consequences, the geologists had warned.
