Experts say quake may hit state in 2010

PATNA: The recent Bhutan earthquake has sent in a warning signal to Bihar as, seismologically speaking, the entire state is sitting on a time bomb. Experts have already predicted the probability of an earthquake of a magnitude greater than eight on Richter Scale in this region any time around 2010.Thestate has a history of moderate to severe earthquake occurrences and its area iscovered in seismic zones IV and V with possible maximum magnitude up to 8.4 onthe Richter Scale. While the northern part of the state adjacent to Nepal liesin the highest risk zone, Patna and adjoining areas fall in zone IV (high riskzone).The state has witnessed more than 25 earthquakes havingmagnitudes above 5.4 in the last two centuries, two of them being quitedevastating, said PU geology department head B K Thakur.The lastmajor quake of the magnitude 6.6 occurred on August 20, 1988, in the foothillsof the Himalaya mountains, in the south-east Nepal-Bihar border region. Itkilled over 1,500 people and caused landslides and damage to property over awide area.Geological Survey of India's former director N Dayal saidthat the foothills of Himalayas, Indo-Gangetic plains and the sedimentary basinsof Vindhyans are all quake-prone areas of the state. Studies on the earthquakepatterns of this region indicate that strain is accumulating in some parts ofthis region. Separate field of thermal energy is created in the stress area andchanges in the magnetic field are also observed prior to quakes. Coronal massejection (CME) due to solar radiation is absorbed in active faults and, hence,the chances of earthquakes generally increases in March and April, headded.