5.8 magnitude earthquake jolts J&K, triggers panic

Srinagar: An earthquake, measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale, jolted J&K on Thursday, triggering panic among people who rushed out of their homes.

Data posted on the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said that the earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale occurred at 4.19 p.m. with epicentre in the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region.

The earthquake occurred 209 km inside the earth's crust. Its coordinates were Latitude 36.62 degrees North and Longitude 71.32 degrees East.

Tremors were felt throughout the Valley as people in some places ran out of their homes and workplaces.

Officials said that no loss of life or damage to property has been reported from anywhere.

Earthquakes have wrought havoc in Kashmir in the past as the Valley is seismologically situated in an earthquake-prone region.

Historical records reveal that many times in the past, habitations have been totally destroyed because of earthquakes in the Valley. Traditionally, the mud structures made in Kashmir were more suited to negotiate earthquakes.

In modern times, concrete-reinforced cement structures have replaced mud houses even in the rural areas of Kashmir, making these more vulnerable to earthquakes.

On October 8, 2005, an earthquake, measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, killed over 80,000 people on the two sides of the Line of Control (LoC) in J&K.

Muzaffarabad town in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) was destroyed in the 2005 earthquake.

In addition to this, periodic tremors were being felt in the Chenab Valley region of J&K including Doda, Kishtwar, Reasi and Ramban districts.

Geologists and seismologists have engaged themselves to find out the reason for these tremors which have been reported in fairly good numbers during the last 15 years.