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Fresh tremors trigger landslides in Kodagu
While the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre is yet to confirm if fresh tremors were felt in the region, local administration said landslides occurred in Chembu and Bettadhur villages of the district.
After reporting six mild tremors over a week, Kodagu reported another earthquake in the early hours of Saturday, resulting in two landslides, residents of the districts said.
While the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) is yet to confirm if fresh tremors were felt in the region, local administration said landslides occurred in Chembu and Bettadhur villages of the district.
“Yes, landslides have occurred in the region. However, no damages or injuries were reported. As for the tremor, we are waiting for the KSNDMC to confirm it,” an official said.
Vinod Chengappa, a resident of Chembu village, said they heard noises at around 3 am on Saturday and later realised that a house was damaged in the landslide that followed. “It was only the morning we saw the full extent of the damage. The house that was damaged belonged to my neighbour Giridhar Melchembu. The landslide had taken away the compound wall, and the mud had entered the house. But no one was injured,” he said.
The tremor on Saturday was the latest in the series of tremors reported in the region last week. An earthquake measuring 3 on the Richter scale was reported in parts of Madikeri taluk in Kodagu (Coorg) district and a few areas in Dakshina Kannada on June 28.
Similarly, on June 23, a tremor measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale hit Hassan district and tremors were felt in Madikeri and Kushalnagar taluks of Kodagu district. Another quake in Kodagu was reported on June 26 and it measured 2.3 on the Richter scale.
“This type of earthquake does not create any harm to the local community, although slight shaking might be observed locally. The epicentre falls in Seismic Zone III, and the region is void of any structural discontinuities as per the tectonic map. People need not panic as the intensity observed is moderate,” the KSNDMC said in a statement.
On Thursday, a team of KSNDMC 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.
KSNDMC Junior Scientific Officer 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 Earthquake Monitoring Sub-Centre has been equipped with a broadband Seismometer, Accelerometer, Digitiser, GPS and other accessories.
“The temporary monitoring centre would collect information regarding earthquakes in the region and relay the information to the district administration frequently,” Ramesh said.
According to Indian Metrological Department (IMD), widespread moderate to heavy rains with isolated very heavy rains are likely over Coastal Karnataka districts till Sunday and scattered to widespread very light to moderate rains with isolated heavy rains likely over Malnad districts and scattered to widespread very light to moderate rains likely over North Interior Karnataka (NIK) and South Interior Karnataka (SIK) districts till Sunday.
As per the forecast, in SIK, widespread very light to moderate rains are likely over Bengaluru Urban and Ramanagara districts and scattered very light to light rains are likely over the remaining districts of the region, while in NIK, Isolated to scattered very light to light rains is expected.
In the Malnad region,scattered to widespread very light to moderate rains with isolated heavy rains likely over Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, Hassan and Shivamogga districts. In Coastal districts, widespread moderate to heavy rains with isolated very heavy rains likely over Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts, read the forecast.
