A spate of Himalayan Earthquakes: Nepal, Delhi and now Arunachal Pradesh

An earthquake of magnitude 5.7 hit the West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh today. The quake hit the area at 10.31 am at a depth of 10 km. Nepal had similarly been hit with 3 earthquakes in the span of 24 hours on Wednesday. Its tremors were felt in Uttarakhand as the quake was 6.6 on the Richter scale.

The first earthquake of 4.9 magnitude hit Nepal on Tuesday night around 8:52 pm. The second earthquake hit Nepal at around 9:41 pm of a 3.5 magnitude. The last and the biggest earthquake hit at 1:57 am, the earthquake was of 6.3 magnitude with a depth of 10 km below ground.

Tremors from this earthquake were felt till Delhi-NCR and other parts of North India. Although there haven't been any casualties in Delhi, 6 people have died in Nepal due to the earthquakes.

Nepal’s army had been mobilised for search and rescue operations. The army and people of Nepal have been seen clearing away the debris. Many people have been injured due to the earthquake and were taken to hospitals in Nepal.

Scientists are stating that there is a strong possibility of a major earthquake in the Himalayan region and highlighted the need for better preparedness in order to minimise the damage to life and property. As per them, future earthquakes could be of larger magnitudes of even seven or more.

Seven major earthquakes were recorded in the Himalayan region over the past 150 years - Shillong in 1897, Kangra in 1905, Bihar-Nepal in 1934, Assam in 1950, Uttarkashi in 1991, Chamoli in 1999 and Nepal in 2015. Nepal is still in the process of rebuilding after the 2015 earthquakes that shook Nepal and destroyed many places across Nepal. In 2015 Nepal suffered a USD 6 billion economic loss.

Citizens of Delhi have said that they were woken up at night around 2 am and felt tremors for many minutes. Many people have taken to Twitter to share the videos and express their opinions.

Nepal's prime minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba also expressed his condolences to the families who have been affected due to the earthquakes. He tweeted, "Expressing my heartfelt condolences to the families of those who died in the earthquake, which was centred in the Khaptad region of Far West. Also, I have instructed the relevant agencies to arrange immediate and proper treatment of the injured and the victims in the relief and rescue in the affected areas,"