Two persons died and 17 others were injured in roof and wall collapse in the wake of a high intensity earthquake that rocked Bihar today.
Agencies
PATNA: Two persons died and 17 others were injured in roof and wall collapse in the wake of a high intensity earthquake that rocked Bihar today. In West Bengal, one man was killed in a wall collapse even as several multi-storyed buildings developed cracks in West Bengal.
A man, identified as Pannya Singha Roy, died when a wall collapsed on him while he was working in his garden at Noapara in Ambari area of Jalpaiguri district, District Magistrate Pritha Sarkar said.
Several multi-storeyed buildings developed cracks due to quake in Siliguri in north Bengal, Sub-divisional Officer Dipapriya said.
In view of the situation, five NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) teams have left for as many districts to help citizens in the wake of the earthquake and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is rushing back to Patna from New Delhi.
Darbhanga District Magistrate Kumar Ravi told PTI that two persons, an eight-year-old child and a woman, died in roof and wall collapse in separate places in the district. While the child died at Mantara village under Gaura Boram block, the woman lost her life at Tikkapatthi village under Sanki police station area.
The DM said four of the injured persons have been admitted to Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).
In Munger district, eleven persons were injured in incidents of house collapse, jumping from roof tops and while running in panic.
Munger Commissioner Munger Sunil Kumar said the 11 injured have been admitted to Sadar hospital.
Two persons were injured, one each in Samastipur and Bhagalpur districts, in a rush to run out from their houses during the earthquake, the police said.
Vijay Sinha, Commandant of 9th battalion of NDRF based at Bihta in Patna district, told PTI that each NDRF team comprising about 45 personnel have left for Supual, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Gopalganj and Gorakhpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Low intensity tremor inKochi
A low intensity tremor was felt in some parts of Kochi today, triggering panic among people residing in high rise buildings, officials said.
Officials said experts in the Seismology Department are assessing whether it was an after effect of the high-intensity quake that rocked Delhi and many parts of East and North India.
"According to information, it was a low intensity earthquake of magnitude less than three on the Richter scale. Initial inputs say that mild tremors were felt some parts of Kochi city," Ernakulam Additional District Magistrate B Ramachandran said.
He said district disaster management officials have been sent to assess whether there was any damage to property in the affected areas. The tremors, which lasted a few seconds, triggered panic and forced people to rush out of their flats and offices, officials said.
Tremors felt in Bengal
Parts of West Bengal were today rocked by an earthquake, that had its epicenter in Nepal, causing panic among the people.
"The tremors of the earthquake which had its epicenter in Nepal region was felt here in the city and other parts of the Eastern region. The magnitude of the earthquake on the Richter Scale is 7.5 . We are still waiting for more details," D K Das , a senior official of Kolkata Meteorological department said.
Hundreds of people ran out of their homes and offices and assembled on the streets. The tremors were felt in various parts of the city especially in Lake Town, Salt Lake, Dalhousie and Park street area.
Reports from the districts said it was also experienced in Purulia, Bankura, Burdwan, East Midnapore and Nadia district.
Several multi-storyed buildings developed cracks because of the earthquake.
Incidents of a wall collapse and crack in one house were reported from Telipara in Jalpaiguri district, Sub-divisional Officer Seema Haldar said. The water of the river Korola, passing through the Jalpaiguri town, rose in waves to a considerable height during the quake, she said.
The area suffered an aftershock around noon, Gopinath Raha, In-charge of Sikkim Meteorological Department said. The tremor also shook Kolkata where hundreds of people ran out of their homes and offices and assembled on the streets. The tremors were felt in various parts of the city especially in Lake Town, Salt Lake, Dalhousie and Park street areas.
Reports from the districts said it was also experienced in Purulia, Bankura, Burdwan, East Midnapore and Nadia districts.
Govt monitoring situation in Bengal: Mamata
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said that state government is monitoring the situation closely and urged people to stay calm in the wake of the earthquake.
A high-intensity quake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale today rocked many parts of East and North India, including Delhi, epicenter of which was Nepal.
"We are monitoring situation closely in Bengal specially in Darjeeling/Siliguri. Spoke to Sr Disaster Management team & others," Banerjee tweeted.
"My prayers with the people of Nepal and across India after the massive earthquake. Hope everyone is safe. Stay calm," she said in the micro-blogging site.
Earthquake jolts Rajasthan
An earthquake jolted desert state of Rajasthan on Saturday morning and tremors were felt from Jaipur to border district Barmer.
However, there were no reports of any loss of life or property in the state.
"I suddenly found my chair shaking. I live on 4th floor in an apartment on Sirsi road in Jaipur. I just rushed out of my building, shouting and requesting people not to use the lift," said Ravindra Kumar.
Another resident Manmohan of Raja Park area of the city said: "I was watching TV when suddenly everything started to shake. Initially I was confused then I realised that it was an earthquake and I came out of my building."
The earthquake was felt most by those living in high rise buildings as a majority of them were seen standing outside, worried and concerned.
"I think it must have lasted for a minute," said Ashok S Dharma, a resident of walled city area in Jaipur.
Quake rocks Jharkhand
An earthquake today rocked Jharkhand, causing panic among the people, but there were no immediate reports of any loss of life or damage to property.
The quake, with its epicentre in Nepal, was felt at Dumka, Pakur, Sahibganj, Ranchi, Jamshedpur and other places at around 11.40 am. People in some places rushed out of their houses in panic, officials said.
There were no reports of any damage to property or loss of life, they said.
Palamau Deputy Commissioner K Srinivasan said, "I felt the tremor while working in my chamber."
Tremors felt in Punjab, Haryana
Tremors were felt in Punjab, Haryana and in the capital city of Chandigarh following the 7.9 Richter Scale earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday.
The tremors were felt around 11.40 a.m. and lasted a few seconds.
Authorities in both the states said that there were no reports of any loss of life or damage to property.
Two injured in Bihar earthquake, CM cuts short visit to Delhi
Two persons were injured in the high intensity earthquake in different parts of Bihar, prompting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to cut short his visit to New Delhi.
Two persons were injured in Samastipur and Bhagalpur districts respectively in a rush to run out from their houses during the quake which measured 7.5 on Ritcher scale, reports from the districts said.
Cracks appeared in a Grameen bank building at Kaiserpatti area under Sadar police station, a report from Kisanganj said.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar spoke to Chief Secretary Anjani Kumar Singh, state police chief P K Thakur and directed them to alert people particularly of areas bordering Nepal.
The DGP told that in deference of the CM's direction, all police heads of the districts have been directed to send alerts to police stations on wireless and assess the extent of damage.
Sources at the Chief Minister's house said he is returning to Patna cutting short his visit to the national capital.
Kumar had a telephonic talk with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the calamity.
Speaker of Bihar Assembly Uday Narayan Choudhary and Minister Shyam Rajak ran out in the open during a programme at Kurji Holy Hospital in the state capital.
Rajak told they were attending a programme for welfare of downtrodden children at the Kurji hospital when they felt the tremor and ran out of the building alongwith the children.
Residents in the state capital rushed out of their homes in view of the quake.
Director State Meteorological office A K Sen told there was possibility of secondary jerks of the earthquake in the next 48 hours particularly in areas like Darbhanga, Araria, Kisanganj bordering Nepal and an alert has been sounded by the state government in this regard.
NDRF alerted amid earthquake: Rajnath Singh
Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday the central government has placed its disaster response agencies such as the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on alert after an earthquake hit northern India.
The minister said tremors were felt in north India but there was no preliminary report of damage anywhere in the country.
He expressed grief over the situation in Nepal, adding "my heart goes out to the people of Nepal who have been hit by a massive earthquake. We stand by the people of Nepal in the difficult times".
Buildings damaged in Siliguri, Agra due to earthquake
A part of a building in Siliguri of West Bengal and another building in Agra were damaged on Saturday due to the earthquake which shook Nepal and Northern India.
According to reports, the epicentre of the tremors was said to be in Pokhra, Nepal, with the European Mediterranean Seismological Center stating that the earthquake measured 7.4 on the Richter scale.
The tremors were felt in Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati and Patna, besides Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).
Tremors in coastal AP after powerful quake hits north India
The north coastal Andhra Pradesh experienced mild tremors today after a powerful earthquake struck Nepal and parts of north and northeast India.
However, no casualty or damage to property were reported.
According to Cyclone Warning Centre here, the tremors were felt for a few seconds in Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam and East Godavari districts.
"It is a common phenomenon to experience tremors after an earthquake. However, there is no need to panic. No loss of life or property were reported," the cyclone centre officials said.
Meanwhile, a report from Rajahmundry, quoting revenue officials, said the tremors were felt in Rajahmundry, Amalapuram, Kakinada, Kothapeta, Ravulapalem and Mummadivaram areas in East Godavari district.
The tremors were felt between 11.30 am and 12.00 pm, they said, adding that they lasted for a few seconds.
District Collector H Arun Kumar has sought a report from the Hyderabad-based National Geophysical Research Institute.
Tremors felt in Odisha
Tremors were felt in several parts of Odisha following a severe earthquake in many parts of East and North India triggering panic among the people.
The earthquake measuring 7.5 on the richter scale with its epicentre in Nepal was felt at about 11.43 am in the state, MeT officials said.
The intensity in Odisha was about two MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale, about 875 km north-north-west of Bhubaneswar, they said.
However, there was no immediate report about injury to anyone or damage to property from any part of the state, officials said.
Apart from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, the tremor was felt in Cuttack, Balasore, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Mayurbhanj, Berhampur, Khurda and Sambalpur, according to reports reaching here.
The tremors were also felt for a duration spanning 20 seconds to one minute.
As the tremors rocked many places, panicked people were seen running out of buildings to the open for safety.
People in high-rise buildings in the state capital and other places were seen moving out as they noticed furniture and ceiling fans were swaying.
Cracks in Darjeeling building, people panic
In Darjeeling, several old buildings developed cracks and panic-striken people came out of their houses. However, no casualties have been reported immediately.
Several old trees have been uprooted due to the earthquake in the hills.
Akhilesh Yadav announces relief package for affected
Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday announced relief packages for those affected by the earthquake which shook Nepal and Northern India.
"There has been damage in some areas due to earthquake. We will assess the situation. We have asked the administration to be on full alert; we have asked all the DMs and government officials to provide all the possible help to the people. We have decided to give Rs. two lakhs to the families of the deceased and Rs. 20,000 to those seriously injured," Yadav said at a rally here.
"The Prime Minister had called me up to ask about the situation in Uttar Pradesh, I have assured him that our government will provide all the necessary help to the people of the state," he added.
Tremors felt in Chennai
Tremors were felt in some parts of Chennai city and the neighbouring union territory of Puducherry.
In Chennai, tremors were felt in Kodambakkam and Guindy areas.
"I felt slight tremors around noon," S.Bhuvaneswari, a private sector employee in Guindly locality, told IANS.
According to reports, some residents in Puducherry also felt the tremors.
Tremor felt in several MP districts, Nagpur
Tremors of a high-intensity earthquake that shook east and north India, with its epicentre in Nepal, were felt at many districts in Madhya Pradesh and adjoining eastern Maharashtra.
However, no causalities were reported from any place. The jolts of the earthquake were experienced at many places in Madhya Pradesh, including Bhopal, Gwalior, Mandla, Hoshangabad, Sidhi, Indore, Chhindwara and Shahdol among other districts, Met Department officials said here.
In capital Bhopal, shoppers and staffers in state secretariat and other offices ran out to streets for safety after experiencing the tremors for a few seconds around 11.45 am.
The jolts created panic in Indore, where residents of multi-storeyed buildings came out on the streets.
The tremors were also felt in Jafar Nagar, Jaripatka and some parts of central Nagpur in adjoining Maharashtra. However, no casualty or damage to property has been reported, police said.
Deputy Director General, Geological Survey of India, Shekhar Sarkar, told PTI that data has been sought from regional seismic observatories located in Nagpur and Jabalpur.
Agencies
