A mild tremor, of 3.2 magnitude, was recorded in Chengalpattu district on the morning of Friday, December 8, 2023, according to the National Centre for Seismology, a nodal agency of the Union government that monitors earthquakes.
The quakes were also recorded in parts of Gujarat and Karnataka.
The tremors were recorded at 7.39 a.m. at a depth of 10 km in Chengalpattu. The Centre had also recorded tremors of a similar magnitude in Vijayapura, Karnataka at a depth of 10 km on Thursday (December 7) morning.
Meteorologists in Chennai termed the tremors as mild. The seismic unit of the Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, transmitted data to the National Centre for Seismology.
Officials of the National Centre for Seismology, New Delhi, said such tremors can sometimes occur after a heavy rainfall period, post monsoon. Cavities in the upper layers of the earth’s crust collapse, when a heavy volume of water percolates at a depth of about 5 km. This might be one of the reasons for mild tremors recorded on Friday morning in Chengalpattu district. Such events may occur even up to two or three months after a monsoon period, they said.
It may be recalled that severe cyclonic storm Michaung had dumped heavy rainfall over the north coastal region earlier this week, flooding Chennai and its peripheral areas.
Earthquake of 4.2 intensity hits Gujarat’s Kutch
A 4.2 intensity earthquake was recorded near Rapar town of Gujarat’s Kutch district on Friday morning, officials said.
There were no reports of casualties or damage as of now, they said.
“Earthquake measuring 4.2 on Richter Scale was recorded 19 kms west-southwest of Rapar in Kutch district around 9 am,” said an official of the Institute of Seismological Research.
The quake struck at a depth of 19.5 km beneath the earth surface, officials said.
The effect of the quake was also felt in Rajkot, said officials, adding that no report of damage has been received so far.
Tremors felt in Karnataka’s Vijayapura district
An earthquake of magnitude 3.0 shook parts of Vijayapura district in north Karnataka bordering Maharashtra on Friday morning, the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre said.
According to the KSNDMC statement, the tremor was felt at 6.52 am and the epicentre of the earthquake was 4.3 kilometre south-east of Ukumanal village in Vijayapura Taluk of the district.
‘No need to panic’
The Seismic Intensity map of the above earthquake from the epicentre show that the intensity observed is low, and the tremor might be felt up to a radial distance of 40-50 km from the epicentre, it said.
“This type of earthquake would not create any harm to the local community as the intensity observed is low, though there might be local vibrations felt. The epicentre falls in Seismic Zone-3 and the region is void of any structural discontinuities as per the tectonic map. The community need not panic as the magnitude and intensity observed are low,” the statement said.
(With inputs from PTI)
