Devastating earthquake In Nepal. effects in India

Where were you when the earthquake happened on Saturday, April 25? What did you think first? Who did you call – to check on their safety or to reassure them about yours? Afterwards, did you receive numerous messages about another earthquake about to happen? Did you also forward photographs of damaged buildings or predictions of more earthquakes?

The events of the last two days – and our collective reaction to them – have shown the truth of what the Washington Post said in an article dated August 26, 2011. “Earthquakes rattle our psyches as much as our structures.”

We are afraid of what we do not know. We are afraid of what we cannot prevent. Most of all, we are scared of what we cannot predict. In fact, in today’s day and age, we find it difficult to accept that there are things that we cannot predict as yet.

This seems to be the right time to talk about some earthquake myths.

1. We can predict earthquakes: As of now, there is no accepted method to predict the time, place or magnitude of an impending earthquake. Research into earthquake prediction continues.

2. Earthquakes are becoming more frequent: Research shows that the occurrence of earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater have remained fairly constant. However, a greater number of seismological centers and more sensitive instruments mean that many small earthquakes are registered and recorded which would have gone unnoticed earlier.

        3. Dogs and other animals can ‘sense’ when an earthquake is going to happen: It is true that animals have been observed to behave differently just before earthquakes, but an undeniable connection has not yet been proved. This is probably because animals’ finely tuned senses help them ‘feel’ the earthquake at its earliest stages. But, this cannot be used as a predictor.

4. Small earthquakes prevent big ones from happening: Earthquakes are measured on a logarithmic scale – each degree on the Richter scale represents about 31.6 times more energy released. This implies that a small quake may temporarily ease the stress along a fault line but it will not prevent a larger one.

5. The magnitude of an earthquake determines whether it is a disaster: An earthquake of that registers at 7 on the Richter scale but occurs in the middle of a desert is much less a disaster than a magnitude 6 quake in a densely populated area. The magnitude of the damage determines classification, not that of the earthquake itself.