Agencies
NEW DELHI, December 31:
Four earthquakes of medium intensity with magnitudes measuring between 4.7 and 5.5 on the Richter scale hit Jammu and Kashmir within a period of two hours on Monday night, the National Centre for Seismology stated.
The first quake had hit the region at 10:42 PM with a magnitude measuring 4.7 and was followed by another quake of 5.5 intensity six minutes later.
The third earthquake with a magnitude of 4.6 occurred at 10:58 PM, followed by the fourth one measuring 5.4 at 11:20 PM.
The first two earthquakes occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres, while the third and the fourth occurred at a depth of 36 kilometres and 63 kilometres respectively, according to the reports by news agency PTI.
The tremors of the quake were reported from Hunza, Ghazar, Gilgit and Skardu districts of Gilgit-Baltistan region.
There have been no immediate reports of loss of life and damage to properties. However, the tremors caused panic among the people and they rushed out of their houses and buildings and came out in the streets. Tremors were also felt in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and other surrounding areas.
A separate earthquake of magnitude gauged to be 5 struck the Andaman and Nicobar islands at 10:29 PM.
Jammu and Kashmir and Andaman and Nicobar islands experience frequent seismic activities.
During the last week, a low-intensity earthquake was reported from Koyna region in Satara district of Maharashtra. The magnitude of the earthquake was recorded at 2.6 at 6:42 am and the epicentre lay nearly eight kilometres from Koyna dam.
Last week, another earthquake of 6.1 intensity jolted Pakistan near Lahore and its tremors were felt in several parts of North India, including the Delhi-NCR region. Pakistani media reports said that the quake was felt in Lahore, Islamabad, and other areas. The United States Geological Survey’s website reported that the quake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres.
