Quake could cause Himalayan glacial lakes to inundate populated areas

New Delhi, May 17 (ANI): Earthquakes could lead glacial lakes in the Himalayas to cause serious hazards to population centres, scientists have said.

The BBC quoted them as saying that past records indicate the region could experience a large quake in the future.

According to reports, many glacial lakes are said to be growing, and some of them are alarmingly, because of melting glaciers.

Some are at risk of rupturing, could flood downstream areas, they said.

"Such a disaster is very much possible, more so, when we are expecting a big earthquake in the region now. If the acceleration is very high in the epicentre of the earthquake, everything will be in the air as things will not be stable. So, naturally the liquids like waters in glacial lakes will burst out," Sushil Kumar, a geophysicist with the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in India, said.

Reports also suggest that a number of these lakes are located near seismic faults.

"Given the location of the lakes, if the epicentre of the earthquake happens to be nearby them, they will certainly explode," Pradeep Mool, a glaciologist with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) that works on mountain issues in the region, said.

The United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) has shown that at least 35 glacial lake outburst took place in Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan and China during the last century. (ANI)