1 killed as 4 earthquakes hit Maharashtra’s Palghar in 12 minutes

A magnitude 3.8 earthquake shook Dahanu in the Talasari belt of Palghar district at 1:03am and was followed by 3.6, 2.9 and 2.8 till 1:15am. The tremors were felt in Boisar as well.

A 55-year-old man was killed in Dahanu of Maharashtra’s Palghar district on Thursday after his thatched house came crashing down on him during an earthquake, officials said.

The debris of a thatched hut is seen after an earthquake in Dahanu in Palghar district of Maharashtra on Thursday. The 55-year-old owner of the hut was killed after it came crashing down, officials said.(HT photo)

Four earthquakes hit Palghar district within minutes early on Thursday after more than seven tremors were felt in the area since Wednesday evening. A magnitude 3.8 earthquake shook Dahanu in the Talasari belt of Palghar district at 1:03am and was followed by 3.6, 2.9 and 2.8 till 1:15am. The tremors were felt in Boisar as well.

Rishya Meghwali, a resident of Vasavalpada, is the second person who has been killed in an earthquake since February this year.

The chief of Palghar’s disaster management Vivekanand Kadam said Meghwali was sleeping when a portion of the thatched house covered with Mangalorean tiles collapsed during the quake.

His 50-year-old wife suffered minor injuries, said Kadam. The couple was alone in the hut, the official also said.

Sources in the government said Dahanu’s tehsildar Rahul Sarang is rushing to the spot.

“More than 60 mild tremors have been recorded by five seismographs installed by the regional meteorological department (RMD), Colaba, since November 3, 2018,” said Kadam.

“The quakes are also being monitored by Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B), National Centre for Seismology in New Delhi, National Geophysical Research Institute of Hyderabad and other organisations,” said Kadam.

In February, a two-year-old girl from Haladwadi in Talasari died after an earthquake in the area.