Kathmandu, January 29:

The National Seismological Centre (NSC), last year, recorded 929 earthquakes with a magnitude of more than two on the Richter scale The record doesn’t tell all, chief of the NSC Soma Nath Sapkota says. Around ten earthquakes, very minor ones, take place every day, he added.

“It is observed that around ten earthquakes take place every day, but they are less powerful and quakes of less than two on the Richter scale are insignificant and so not not recorded,” Sapkota said .Those earthquakes being very small and harmless, people “ would not even realise the tremor,” he added .

The NSC has recorded 21 earthquakes which had a magnitude of more than four on the Richter scale, three which were over five on the scale , including the one in Kathmandu on October 29, which had Nuwakot as its epicentre.

Sapkota said unless the earthquakes have a magnitude of around six, there is little chance of big damage . However, he added that the impact of any earthquake could vary based on the distance from the epicentre and the land type. “If the area have bedrocks, there is less chance of destruction, but on soft soil there is a higher risk.”

Nepal is positioned on the boundary between the Indian and Tibetan tectonic plates and therefore lies in a seismically active region. It is the 11th most earthquake- prone state.

According to Surya Narayan Shrestha of National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET), small tremors are frequent in the country, but an earthquake as big as that of 1934 occurs only in a span of 70 to 80 years. He added that the earthquakes could not be prevented.All that we can do is to minimise the hazards and prepare ourselves to face them.