Iran, Pak quakes send aftershocks across India

Child killed in mudslide, nuke installations safe

Earthquakes in Iran and Pakistan sent shockwaves across India which felt strong tremors forcing people to rush out of their homes and offices.

An eight-year-old child was killed in a mudslide in Assam, which along with other northeastern states and Odisha, felt two earthquakes in the day.

The quake, measuring 3.5 to 6.2 on the Richter scale, was felt in the national capital and its neighbourhood, Kashmir Valley, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Odisha etc. Most parts of the south of the Vindhyas did not feel the quake.

The buildings started shaking mildly around 4:14 pm, lasting for several seconds.
There were, however, no casualties nor any report of damage to property. Key establishments including all nuclear installations remained unaffected. Nuclear plants in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan reported normal working.

“All our plants in the northern and western region remained unaffected by the earthquake,” Nalinish Nagaich, executive director, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) said.

Delhi and its adjoining area felt the tremors which lasted several seconds. “No damage has been reported in the capital or its nearby areas,” said a Met department official.

Shobhana, who works with a hospital at Saket said the tremors scared people to come out in the open. “I only came to know about the earthquake when I saw staff members running out of one of the buildings. It created panic among the crowd.”

While the north-east region did not feel the shocks of the quake in the evening, it was hit by tremors in the morning. Assam’s Barpeta district reported the first earthquake at 6:53 am.

Three children, who had gone for fishing in Beki River at Kalgasia village were swept into the waters by the mudslide during the first tremor, official sources said.
While Jehirul Nessa (8) drowned, the other two children were rescued and admitted to hospital.

Tremor was also felt in the neighbouring states of Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, categorised under Zone V of the country’s seismological map and considered to be highly active.There were tremors again around 2 pm.

In Odisha, the tremor occurred at 8:36 am in Puri district with its epicentre at about 40 km from the seismological observatory at Bhubaneswar, the Meteorological Centre said.

Tremors were also felt in Kashmir Valley.

 Director of the local Met office Sonam Lotus said a high intensity earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale that rocked Pakistan-Iran border at 4:14 pm was also felt in the Valley. 

Reports said people from Uri and Tanghdar in north Kashmir which had been hit by a massive earthquake in October 2005 rushed from their houses screaming for help. Jammu and Kashmir lies in seismic zones IV and V while Srinagar itself is in Zone V and has witnessed several earthquakes in the past. 

For Gujarat residents the memories of 2001 Bhuj earthquake came flashing back as residents in all major Gujarat cities rushed out with tremors rocking the state.

Though the intensity was measured at 5 on the Richter scale, the tremors left the residents shaken and rushing for cover. “I was just making some drawing and the building started shaking. All the students rushed out of the building,’’ said Pratima, a drawing student who along with others rushed out on the streets.

All major cities in the state including Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara felt the tremors.

In Rajasthan, the tremor was felt in Udaipur, Kota, Ajmer, Jodhpur and Sikar. In Jaipur, employees working in the state secretariat felt the tremor and rushed out of the office.