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Earthquake of 4.4 magnitude jolts Karnataka’s Vijayapura
The earthquake occurred at 06.22 am, epicentre at “2.3 kms NW of Kannur GP, Vijayapura Taluk, Vijayapura district (Bordering Vijayapura and Maharashtra region)”, the KSNDMC said in a statement from the centre.
An earthquake of 4.4 magnitudes struck Vijayapura district on Saturday morning, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) said. The earthquake occurred at 06.22 am, epicentre at “2.3 kms NW of Kannur GP, Vijayapura Taluk, Vijayapura district (Bordering Vijayapura and Maharashtra region)”, the KSNDMC said in a statement from the centre.
Tremors were also felt in a village near Athani in the Belagavi district on Saturday morning. No damages or loss of life was reported from anywhere, it added in the statement.
According to the KSNDMC, the intensity observed is moderate and the tremor might be felt up to a radial distance of 30-40 km from the epicentre, as per the Seismic Intensity map of the said earthquake from the epicentre. The epicentre was 2.3 km northwest of Kannur Gram Panchayat in Vijayapura. It lies on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border.
On Saturday, KSNDMC director Manoj Rajan said, “This type of earthquake would not create any harm to the local community as it is moderate, though there might be local vibrations felt. The epicentre falls in Seismic Zone III, and the region is void of structural discontinuities as per the Tectonic map. The community need not panic as the intensity observed is moderate.’’
Before Vijayapura, tremors were reported in Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts. KSNDMC sent additional teams of experts to Kodagu and surrounding districts to understand occurrences of tremors in the region over the last week. While the authorities claimed there have been five reported cases of low-intensity tremors in the region, residents of the district claim there have been at least seven incidents.
Officials in Kodagu said that the KSNDMC team from Bengaluru began work on June 26. The officials from Bengaluru inspected the district to study the tremor patterns and established an earthquake monitoring sub-centre at Chembu Government High School in Chembu village of Paraje Gram Panchayat in North Kodagu. Chembu village, which borders Dakshina Kannada district, experienced two earthquakes recently.
The officers continue to be stationed in Kodagu and a report on the study is expected next week, said officials KSNDMC.
KSNDMC junior scientific officer Dr Ramesh said that an earthquake monitoring sub-centre is established temporarily at the Chembu Government School as Chembu village has all the required facilities to establish the sub-centre. The sub-centre has been equipped with a broadband seismometer, accelerometer, digitiser, GPS and other accessories. The visiting experts were seismologists, disaster management cell officials and local administration officials.
Seismologists in the department are yet to explain the frequent tremors in the district. However, they said that the week-long study in Kodagu will help them understand the situation. “Earthquakes are up to magnitude 3.0 on the Richter scale there is nothing to worry about, but we must understand it because Kodagu is prone to flooding and landslides. This is the hilly region of the state as well,” said an official who is part of the team.
The official added that from the study so far, they have understood that such tremors are experienced during the monsoons. . “Currently around 6 cm of rain is reported in the region. We are also looking at the possibility of these tremors increasing if there is heavier rainfall,” he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
