India: 2018 flood has left dams, reservoirs in Kerala prone to earthquakes

Source(s): Live-Mint/Hindustan Times, HT Media Limited

By Srishti Choudhary

As Kerala struggles to recover from the monsoon floods that ravaged the state yet again this season, research has highlighted that floods triggered by heavy rain has left reservoirs and dams highly prone to earthquakes.

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Kerala was ravaged by the worst floods of the century last year in August taking a heavy toll on lives and causing massive damage of an estimated $200 billion to infrastructure and property. After the floods, the research team studied the geology of the Western Ghats and found them to be highly deformed with folds and faults caused due to tectonic movements.

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The ecologically fragile Western Ghats cover almost half of Kerala, which has been known to be seismically active. The state has been witnessing seismicity of the magnitude of 3–5.5 for centuries. Previous studies have found that most of these seismic episodes occur after torrential rain lashes the region, indicating hydro-seismicity.

[...]

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