Eight earthquakes hit Palghar district within four hours

Eight low-intensity earthquakes hit parts of Palghar district of Maharashtra on Friday, officials said.

The magnitude of the earthquakes recorded in the range of 2.2 to 3.6 four hours, officials said.

The tremors were felt in Dahanu and Talasari tehsils of the district and No casualty or damage to property was reported, they said.

“An earthquake of 3.5 magnitude was recorded at 3.29 am, which was followed by 3.5 and 3.6 magnitude quakes at 3.57 am and 7.6 am respectively,” chief of the District Disaster Control Cell Vivekanand Kadam said.

Dahanu Sub Divisional Officer Ashima Mittal said, “Besides these three earthquakes, which were above 3.0 magnitude, five others were experienced between 3 am and 7 am. Their magnitude was in the range of 2.2 to 2.8.”

Kadam said the local tehsildars have been instructed to carry out inspection of the villages.

These two tehsils have been experiencing low-intensity earthquakes over the last few days. 

Big tents have been set up on open grounds in the villages of these two tehsils so that local residents can move in there if they feel unsafe in their houses, said Mittal.

“Mock drills will be carried out in the villages to make people aware of the dos and don’ts,” she said.

Meanwhile, the district authorities released an audio message, asking the villagers in Dahanu region to remain alert as they reside in “earthquake prone” area.