Tremors again in North India, third in fortnight

New Delhi, May 1: Tremors were felt in North India, including Delhi and satellite townships, this afternoon, the third in last two weeks.

The quake, measuring 5.8 on the Richter Scale at around 12:30 PM, was epicentred on the border between Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. The tremors were felt for about 20-25 seconds in Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida.

"The quake was 10 kilometres beneath the earth's surface...the possibility of aftershocks are very minimal for such a low intensity quake," added L.S. Rathore, the IMD's director general (Meteorology).

The maximum impact of the quake was felt in Doda and Kishtwar districts.

The tremors, felt across large parts of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Punjab,, lasted six to seven seconds. It caused panic in some places, particularly in hilly areas, some of which reported cracks in homes and buildings.

Reports of cracks in office and residential buildings and disruption of communication systems were reported from Bhaderwah, Doda and Kishtwar towns of Jammu region.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister tweeted that "I felt those tremors in Srinagar. Strange thing was that I heard the rumble before the house started to shake."

In Kashmir, people rushed out of their homes and workplaces in panic when the tremor occurred.

Kashmir is situated in an earthquake prone region where huge devastation has been caused by earthquakes in the past.

On Oct 8, 2005, more than 40,000 people were killed in a massive quake that struck both parts of divided Kashmir. The quake measured 7.8 on the Richter scale.

On April 24 a quake, measuring 5.7 on the Richter Scale was felt at 2.51 pm. It was epicentred in southern Afghanistan. The quake took place 6.6 km down the surface.

On April 16, tremors were felt in North India following a quake measuring 7.8 on the Richter Scale on Pakistan-Iran border.