Earthquake of 4.6 magnitude recorded in Gujarat's Kutch; no casualty or damage to property

Ahmedabad, Dec 26 (PTI) An earthquake of 4.6 magnitude hit Kutch district in Gujarat early Friday morning, creating panic among residents, though no casualty or damage to properties was reported, officials said.

It was recorded at 4:30 am with its epicentre around 22 kilometres West North West (WNW) from Rapar in Kutch district, the Gandhinagar-based Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) said.

The earthquake was followed by two tremors of 2.5 and 3 magnitude in the same region, the ISR said in its update.

No casualty or damage to property was reported, a Kutch district disaster management official said.

Dr Gaurav Chauhan, geologist at Department of Geology in Kutch University, said the 4.6 magnitude earthquake that struck near Rapar occurred on the Northern Wagad fault line, with its epicentre recorded at a depth of five kilometres.

"Due to the shallow depth of the epicentre, the impact of this earthquake was greater. After this earthquake, 17 small and large tremors were recorded until 12 pm at depths of 10-20 kilometres," he said.

A local leader from Wagad said people woke up from their sleep due to the earthquake, adding that memories of the devastating 2001 earthquake were revived.

The 2001 earthquake in Kutch was the third largest and second most destructive in India over the last two centuries. A large number of towns and villages in the district suffered almost complete destruction. The quake killed around 13,800 people and left 1.67 lakh injured.

Kutch district is located in a "very high risk" seismic zone, and earthquakes of lower intensity occur regularly there, as per experts. PTI COR KA BNM