Earthquake in Chamoli | 08 Jul 2024
Why in News?
Recently, an Earthquake hit the Chamoli region of Uttarakhand with its epicentre near the town of Joshimath.
Key Points
- According to the National Center for Seismology, the earthquake had a magnitude of 3.5 on the Richter scale and came amid heavy rainfall and landslides in the region.
Joshimath
- Joshimath is a hilly town located on the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway (NH-7) in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.
- The city serves as a tourist town as it acts as an overnight rest stop for people visiting Badrinath, Auli, Valley of Flowers, and Hemkund Sahib, among other important religious and tourist locations in the state.
- Joshimath is also of great strategic importance to the Indian armed forces and is home to one of the Army's most important cantonments.
- The town (fall in high-risk seismic Zone-V) is traversed by running streams with a high gradient from Vishnuprayag, a confluence of the Dhauliganga and the Alaknanda rivers.