Mumbai is prone to earthquakes, says V Subramanyam, retired IIT professor of earth sciences. It is quite evident from the recent earthquake that hit the Thane-Khargar belt in Maharashtra. According to Subramanyam, the city and the surrounding region is situated on more than ten fault planes. Three major faults pass through the Thane creek, Panvel creek and the Amba river or Dharamtar Creek. These faults meet at a triple junction at Uran. The Oil and Natural Gas Commission's plant is situated at this point. The consequences of a high-intensity earthquake can be disastrous. The epicentre of the recent earthquake was 20 kilometres from Kalyan along the Panvel flexure (bend). At this bend, structural transition takes place from horizontally disposed black rocks of the Deccan plateau to inclined black rocks found all over Mumbai. This transition has made the flexure an earthquake prone area.
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