Kolkata: October 11

People of Sikkim are yet not out the trauma that the recent earthquake gave them. Sikkim was the epicenter of the tragic earthquake that jolted the region on September 18. The death toll in Sikkim alone has mounted to more than 100. Not only that, this massive earthquake of 6.9 magnitude has resulted in immense disruption to houses, infrastructure, roads and communication network in the state. Locals fear that an another earthquake of higher magnitude can again destroy many more lives and property. But there is a very little chance of any large earthquake over the next couple of years.

News agency IANS reported that S. K. Nath, a senior professor of geology and geophysics in IIT Kharagpur said that a vast energy has been released through the September 18 tremors so there is a minimum possibility of an another in near future.

Although the recent quake left scores dead and devastated vast areas in north Sikkim, the leading geologist says the damage would have been worse had its full fury been felt in the state’s more populous south, where no building code is followed.

“Though many people have died in Sikkim, I must say that Sikkim was lucky this time as the epicentre of the earthquake was the Sikkim-Nepal border,” he said.

(with Economic Times inputs)

 

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