Srinagar, Dec 26: Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh experienced two mild-intensity earthquakes on Tuesday with no immediate reports of damage, officials said. They said that the epicenters were located in Kishtwar district of Jammu region and Ladakh’s Leh district.
The National Centre of Seismology (NCS) reported that a 3.7 magnitude earthquake occurred at 1:10 am in Kishtwar, with a depth of five kilometers below the surface at 33.36 degrees latitude and 76.67 degrees longitude, as per the NCS. Again, there were no immediate reports of damage from the region.
Similarly, another 4.5 magnitude earthquake occurred at 4:33 am in Ladakh, with a depth of five kilometers below the earth’s surface at 34.73 degrees latitude and 77.07 degrees longitude. Although the tremors startled residents in Kargil and Leh, authorities received no reports of damage.
Pertinent to mention here, at least seven consecutive earthquakes of moderate intensity shook Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh UTs last week while there were no reports of casualties or damage to property in the twin Himalayan regions, officials said.
The UT of Jammu and Kashmir is prone to earthquakes, with routine small tremors and occasional moderate to large earthquakes affecting nearly all parts of the region. The deadliest earthquake in recent history struck on October 8, 2005, along the India-Pakistan border, claiming over 80,000 lives in northern Pakistan and Jammu & Kashmir.
The Kashmir Valley is highly vulnerable to earthquakes. The northern parts of Jammu & Kashmir are also heavily faulted, with a NW-SE trending strike-slip fault running along the Zaskar and Ladakh ranges, marking the longest fault line in the region.
