4.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Gujarat’s Mahesana

Mahesana (Gujarat):  An earthquake of 4.2 magnitude was recorded in the Mahesana district of Gujarat on Friday night, the Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) said.

While people came out of their houses after feeling the seismic movement, no casualty or loss of property was reported in the region, officials of the state control room in Gandhinagar said.

The quake was recorded at 10:15 p.m. with its epicentre located 13 km south south-west of Patan, the Gandhinagar-based ISR said.

According to the National Center for Seismology, the earthquake was centered around latitude 23.71 N and longitude 72.30 E in the Mahesana region at a depth of 10 km — nearly 219 km north-east of Rajkot in Gujarat. Its epicentre was also located 13 km south-south-west of Patan.

Reports from the northern districts of Banaskantha, Patan, Sabarkantha, and Mehsana claimed that tremors were felt for two to three seconds.

The state has suffered nine major earthquakes in the past 200 years including the devastating earthquake of January 26, 2001, in Kutch district, as per the data provided by the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA).

The Kutch district in Gujarat had also felt earthquake tremors earlier this month. The quake with a magnitude of 3.4 took place early on November 3 with its epicentre located 53 km north-northeast of Lakhpat. Days earlier on October 27, Amreli district in the Saurashtra region of the state recorded a tremor of 3.7 magnitude. No casualty or loss of property was reported due to seismic activity in either case.

Tremors are a frequent occurrence in Gujarat and the state remains at high risk for earthquakes. The coastal state was struck by an earthquake of 6.9 magnitude in 2001 — killing thousands and affecting the entire region.

The 2001 Kutch earthquake — with its epicentre near Bhachau — was the third largest and second most destructive earthquake in India over the last two centuries.

According to the GSDMA data, it killed nearly 13,800 people and left another 1.67 lakh injured.

–IANS