NEW DELHI, 3 January 2005 — With over 80 aftershocks having been recorded since the high intensity quake which unleashed the killer tsunami waves last Sunday, it is feared, a major earthquake may be soon triggered in Assam.
Still not through with the tsunami menace, the Indian government is already on alert about Assam being affected by aftershocks. India’s Department of Science and Technology has established a GPS satellite network in Assam for monitoring crust movements.
The scientists at the Center for Earth Observing and Space Research in George Mason University in Virginia, analyzing the seismic data since Dec. 26, have observed that the aftershocks are moving northward along 90-degree Ridge.
Ramesh P. Singh, a member of the team and vice chairman of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics Risk Commission said: “If the sequence of these aftershocks moves further north then it may trigger a very big earthquake in Assam region which is expected by the scientists since long time.”
Ramesh also said: “No big earthquake has occurred in Assam region for a long time and scientists believe that it is due any time.”
The magnitude-5 earthquake on Dec. 30 near Myanmar reported by the US Geological Survey was probably caused by the aftershocks, Ramesh said. Its epicenter falls on the trajectory of the aftershocks.
The tsunami-affected region, from Andaman and Nicobar Islands to Sumatra, was rocked by a series of earthquakes, measuring between measuring between 5.0 and 6.3 on the Richter scale, since Friday night. This took the number of aftershocks in the area to more than 80. Bangladesh, which shares border with Assam, also experienced a minor earthquake yesterday.
There is a view, that while aftershocks will continue for sometime, gradually their frequency and magnitude will decline. Seismology head of Indian Meteorological Department Dattatreya said: “There is nothing unusual in this phenomena as aftershocks occur after every great quake.”
