Srinagar, April 12
An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale occurred on Saturday with an epicentre in Pakistan, while its tremors were felt in J&K.
Mukhtar Ahmad, Director of MET Department, told IANS that an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale occurred on Saturday at 13:00:55 IST with latitude 33.63 degrees north and Longitude 72.46 degrees east.
“The epicentre of the earthquake was in the Pakistan region. The earthquake occurred 10 km inside Earth’s crust. Mild tremors were also felt in J&K,” he said.
Seismologically, Kashmir Valley is situated in an earthquake-prone region, where earthquakes in the past have wreaked havoc.
On October 8, 2005, an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale occurred at 8.50 am with the epicentre in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Over 80,000 people were killed in the earthquake on both sides of the Line of Control (LoC).
The 2005 earthquake was also felt in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, India and in the Xinjiang region.
The severity of the damage caused by the earthquake is attributed to severe upthrust. Although not the largest earthquake to hit this region in terms of magnitude, the earthquake of 2005 is considered the deadliest, surpassing the 1935 Quetta earthquake.