Two mild earthquakes reported in Kalaburagi's Chincholi

Earthquakes of 3.5 and 2.8 magnitudes were reported from Chincholi taluk in Kalaburagi district of Karnataka within 10 minutes.

This is the seventh tremor people have witnessed in the region in a week. While two had occurred in Basavakalyan on October 1 and 5, four were recorded in Kalaburagi on October 9, 11 and 12.

Panic-stricken people spent the night outdoors in Gadikeshwar and Kupnoor following the tremors. The walls of over 10 houses have collapsed and hundreds of houses developed cracks. In the absence of private vehicles, people are moving out of the village on their motorbikes. Around 100 families have left surrounding villages.

The Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority commissioner Manoj Rajan told PTI that he has convened a meeting of the geologists to understand the phenomena. He added that the disaster management teams in the north Karnataka region has been put on alert. They have also been briefed about the do's and don'ts in the event of any major earthquake.

The KSNDMC said in a statement that the intensity observed on Monday night was "little higher than low intensity". "The earthquake might be felt up to a radial distance of 50 to 60 km or even more. These types of earthquakes do not create any harm or damage to the local community, although there will be vibrations felt up to a distance of 50 to 60 kms based on the local geology," it said. The earthquakes assume significance as the epicentres are in close proximity to Latur and Killari in Maharashtra, which had witnessed a massive earthquake in September 1993 killing a large number of people.

(With inputs from PTI)

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