Massive Turkey-like quake to hit India soon?

New Delhi: A senior professor of IIT's Department of Earth Science Professor Javed Malik has said that India is at risk of a massive earthquake just like Turkey and Syria. "Earthquakes measuring more than 7.5 magnitude on Richter Scale may jolt some parts of India soon," he said.

It is to be noted that Professor Malik has spent a considerable amount of time doing research on the causes behind earlier earthquakes in India. "There is a possibility that the epicenter of the earthquake will be the Himalayan massif or the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. That's why it is necessary to be careful. In view of such a strong earthquake, vigilance should be kept at every level," the IIT Kanpur professor said. Professor Malik has been studying the changes in earth in the quake-hit areas of Kutch, Andaman and Uttarakhand.

He said India has five zones in view of the earthquakes and Zone 5 is the most dangerous among all the zones.

Professor Malik said that Zone-5 consists of the Kutch, Andaman and Nicobar and Himalayan regions. Zone 4 consists of Terai areas including Bahraich, Lakhimpur, Pilibhit, Ghaziabad, Roorkee, Nainital. Zone-3 has Kanpur, Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Sonbhadra etc. Explaining the reason behind the happening of earthquake, Professor Malik said that the quake occurs when tectonic plates collide with each other.

The recent earthquake which has caused massive damage in Turkey and Syria measured 7.8 on Richter Scale.