Dear Curious Bugs,
Thank you so much for all the ‘whys’. The question selected for today’s segment is by Amey Haldankar. His question is exciting as it will teach us something new. He asks –
Why did Latur experience an earthquake even though it was located far away from the tectonic plates?
Amey, the earthquake zoning map of India divides India into 4 seismic zones – Zone 5 (Highest damage zone with maximum risk to life and property), Zone 4 (High damage risk zone), Zone 3 (Moderate damage risk zone), Zone 2 (Low damage risk zone).
Imagine a big piece of cloth which is made by stitching different cloth pieces together. Now, if you were to pull the cloth from one end, where do you think it will most likely tear from – from the stitched part. The Earth’s crust is the same. The section of the crust where there is discontinuity in the rocks is known as the fault line. This happens due to displacement of the rocks caused by the movement of tectonic plates. Tectonic plates are massive blocks of solid rocks.
The surface of the Earth is made of 7 primary, 8 secondary, and many tertiary plates. These plates move very slowly but not usually in the same direction. When they collide with each other, it causes earthquakes.
In 1993, a devastating earthquake hit the districts of Latur and Osmanabad. This was an intraplate earthquake
The cause of intraplate earthquake is usually unknown. It occasionally happens due to erosion of the soil and deglaciation of a region (melting of ice). It is believed that Latur earthquake happened because of reservoir construction in Terna. It increased pressure on the fault lines and the pressure
released in Latur which had a weakness in the crust.
It makes me quite happy to answer your ‘whys’. Put your wonderful brain to work and bring out some exciting and interesting ‘whys’ which would make even us editor aunties scratch our heads. Now, wouldn’t you just love that!
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