• Woman dies in Sumbal, man injured in Baramulla
• Several structures damaged
Srinagar, Aug 20: Parts of Kashmir experienced two back-to-back strong-intensity earthquakes early this morning, with several houses suffering damage in north Kashmir. The epicenters of both tremors were located in Baramulla district.
The first tremor was reported at 6:45 AM and it was followed by another jolt at 6:52 AM.
The National Centre of Seismology (NCS) reported that EQ of M: 4.9, On: 20/08/2024 06:45:57 IST, Lat: 34.17 N, Long: 74.16 E, Depth: 5 Km, Location: Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir.
Second Earthquake of Magnitude: 4.8 occured at 06:52:29 IST. Lat: 34.20 N, Long: 74.31 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location Baramulla.
Although the tremors startled residents in Srinagar and other parts of Valley. People were seen rushing out of their homes in fear and causing widespread panic among residents.
Meanwhile a 35 Year old lady died due to electric shock during an earthquake at Odina village of Sumbal in Bandipora district. Although she was referred to Trauma Hospital Pattan where doctors declared her dead.
The deceased has been identified as Rafiqa Begum w/o Mohammad Maqbool Bhat R/o Odina Sumbal.
In another case, a man was injured after jumping from a commercial building in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
The injured man, driven by fear during the tremors, leapt from a building (Ahmed Complex) and suffered a leg injury in Baramulla. He was immediately rushed to a nearby GMC Baramulla, where he is reported to be in stable condition.
Similarly many residential structures suffered damage and cracks in north Kashmir parts. Two residential houses were damaged due to the earthquake at Tangmulla area of Rafiabad.
Kashmir region 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 particularly vulnerable to earthquakes, situated between the Pir Panjal and Zanskar thrusts.
Other 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.
