Mild tremors shook parts of Bengaluru on Tuesday morning, triggering fear in some neighbourhoods.
The tremors were also felt in towns around Bengaluru, Bidadi, Ramanagaram, Mandya, Kanakapura and Channapatna. Officials described the seismic twitches as ‘micro’ tremors, too insignificant to show up on their earthquake-measuring equipment.
J Lakshmi, a 10th standard student living in Srinagar, had returned from the swimming pool at 7.30 am when she felt the cot shake for a couple of seconds. “I got a big scare,”
she told DH. “But I assumed it was something like a JCB passing by.”
People in Hanumanthanagar, Kengeri, Banashankari and Rajarajeshwari Nagar also experienced the tremors. Some rushed out of their houses. Septuagenarian G Savitri, a resident of Uttarahalli, was sitting in her bedroom when she felt the tremors. She looked out to see if it was a truck causing the unusually vigorous shaking. “I realised what it was only after catching the news on a Kannada channel,” she said.
Social media reports
Social media was abuzz within minutes. Milind Dharmasen, politician and musician, posted on his Facebook page: “Mild earthquake around 8 am in Kengeri. My cot shook twice for about 2-3 seconds each time. Did others experience it too?”
Subhash Agrawal, another social media user, said he felt the tremors in Banashankari. The maximum impact was felt in Channapatna, Ramanagaram and Mandya.
Some houses reportedly developed cracks, and utensils and books kept fell from their shelves.
Not recorded
Dr G S Srinivasa Reddy, director of the Karnataka State Disaster Monitoring Centre, said he had received calls from the deputy commissioners of Bengaluru Urban and Ramanagaram districts.
None of the five observatories in Bengaluru had registered the seismic tremors, he said. “This happens when the magnitude of an earthquake is less than one on the Richter scale,” he explained.