Earthquake: Tremors felt in Gujarat, epicentre in Kutch
Tremors were felt in Gujarat on Sunday evening. A preliminary statement by the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) has concurred.
Concerned agencies confirmed that an earthquake of magnitude 5.5 occurred at 8:13 PM on June 14 at a depth of 10 km in Gujarat’s Kutch district approximately 120 km from Rajkot. The latitude and longitude of the epicentre have been verified as 23.3 N and 70.4 E respectively.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani reportedly had a telephone conversation with the Collectors of Rajkot, Kutch and Patan districts to gather more information about the aftermath of the tremors.
The tremor was felt in cities like Ahmedabad, Kutch, Patan and Rajkot where people were seen rushing out of their homes, an official of the Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) said. No report of damage to life or property has come to light so far.
Gujarat has witnessed three major earthquakes in the past with the most devastating in 2001, another in Anjar in 1956 and the third in 1918 in the Rann of Kutch.
As per reports, the earthquake that struck Gujarat on January 26, 2001, measured 6.9 on the Richter scale and lasted for a little over 100 seconds. In fact, tremors of this quake were also felt in parts of northern India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan.
Over the past three months, nearly a dozen low-intensity earthquakes have been recorded in the national capital. Director of the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) BK Bansal recently told media outlets earlier this week that this was not unusual given the seismic history of Delhi. The same was asserted by a note from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).