3.6 magnitude tremor felt in J&K, no damage reported

Jammu, Oct 6 (IANS) A 3.6 magnitude earthquake occurred in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, and the authorities said that no casualties or damage to property were reported from anywhere so far.

Statistics released by the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said that an earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale occurred in the union territory at 2.47 a.m.

“The epicentre of the earthquake was in the Doda region of Jammu and Kashmir, and it occurred at a depth of 5 km inside the earth’s crust.

“The latitude of the quake was 33.10 degrees north, and the longitude was 76.18 degrees east. There has been no report of any casualty or damage to property from anywhere so far, although the shock was felt by people in the Doda area, causing momentary panic among the residents,” officials said.

The officials added that the region lies in a Seismologically active zone and earthquakes have been occurring in the area in the past as well.

In fact, the entire Kashmir Valley and the Chenab Valley region in Jammu and Kashmir are seismologically situated in sensitive zones.

Earthquakes have wrought havoc in Kashmir in the past. An earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale occurred on October 8, 2005, at 8.50 a.m., killing over 80,000 people on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC).

The epicentre of the 2005 earthquake was in Muzaffarabad town of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The entire Muzaffarabad town was reduced to rubble in that earthquake.

During the last decade, earthquakes of light to moderate intensity have been occurring in the Chenab Valley region, affecting Doda, Kishtwar, and Ramban districts. Experts have been trying to find out the exact cause of these earthquakes occurring with almost recurring periodicity.

Authorities have also advised people to construct earthquake-friendly houses and other structures with minimal use of cement concrete, which is most vulnerable in disasters caused by earthquakes.

--IANS

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