No casualties in Uttarakhand earthquake, confirm officials

After a strong earthquake hit Uttarakhand and parts of North India on Monday night, officials on Monday confirmed that there was no casualities.

Dehradun, Feb 7: No major damage to property or loss of life was reported from the earthquake that jolted Uttarakhand late on Monday, state government officials said on Tuesday.

The 15-second earthquake that shook the state at 10.33 pm measured 5.8 on the Richter scale and was centred at Rudraprayag district.

People in several districts ran out of their houses to safety. There were reports of minor cracks in walls and ceilings of houses in Chamoli and Dehradun. The National Disaster Response Force teams were alerted as well.

A senior official of the disaster management department informed that the offices of the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister were in touch with state authorities. The quake on Monday night was the sixth in the hill state in the last three months.

Reports from various districts collected by the state government overnight point out that the quake was felt in Tihri, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Pauri, Haridwar and Dehradun districts of Uttarkashi.

Tremors were also felt in Champawat, Pithoragarh, Bagheshwar, Almorah, Nainital and Udahmsinghnagar, forcing people to spent the night out in open.

Director of the regional Met Office, Vikram Singh, informed that the quake was centred 33-km under the earth in Rudraprayag.

IANS