Himalayas could see massive earthquakes: Experts

In what could have huge implications for countries like India, scientists have warned of massive earthquakes of the magnitude 8 to 8.5 on the Richter scale in the Himalayas.

According to a research team led by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, powerful earthquakes had left clear ground scars in the central Himalayas. In a statement the researchers said, the ground breaking discovery had huge implications for the area along the front of the Himalayan Mountains, given the region's population density was similar to that of New York City.

According to leading neotectonics scientist Paul Tapponnier, the existence of such devastating quakes in the past meant that quakes of the same magnitude could happen again in the region in future, especially in areas that had not seen their surface broken by an earthquake.

According to the study, in 1255 and 1934, two great earthquakes ruptured the surface of the earth in the Himalayas, which was contrary to what scientists previously thought.

Tapponnier said using resolution imagery and state of the art dating techniques, it could be shown that the 1934 earthquake did indeed rupture the surface over a length of over 150 km, essentially south of the part of the range that harboured Mount Everest.

The fault line of the break marks the boundary between the Indian and Asian tectonic plates, commonly referred to as the Main Frontal Thrust (MFT) fault.