We witnessed how devastating earthquakes can be, when more than 1400 persons were killed in back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes in Venezuela this week. It was horrific to see buildings reduced to dust during the devastating quakes rendering thousands of families homeless.While we are still in shock and awe to see massive devastation in Venezuela, the earth beneath us shook on Saturday evening reminding us that earthquakes can strike anytime, anywhere! The 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit Afghanistan at 7.04 pm, with its epicenter located at a depth of 215 km. Still its shocks were experienced as far as Delhi-NCR and Jammu and Kashmir, though no damage was reported beyond panic.

Every time an earthquake strikes J&K, it brings back horrific memories of October 8, 2005 when a powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake rattled the region causing massive loss of lives and razed thousands of structures to the ground. There is no need to panic but we must know that the mountainous J&K region falls in the highest Seismic Zone VI. It is a reality that earthquakes cannot be exactly predicted or prevented. Least we can do is to minimise damage.

J&K is vulnerable to earthquakes as the region embodies a typical geomorphological and active tectonic setup with landforms produced or modified by active tectonic processes with distinct surface expressions. However, there is an increased probability of earthquakes as new studies link tectonic tearing under the Tibetan Plateau with rising seismic stress across the Himalayas including J&K.

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