A mild intensity earthquake, measuring 3.6 on the Richter Scale, struck Kishtwar town of Jammu and Kashmir early Tuesday morning. However, no loss of life or property damage has been reported so far.
According to the National Center for Seismology (NCS), the earthquake occurred at 8:53 AM at a depth of 5 kilometers below the earth’s surface. In a tweet, the NCS said the quake epicenter was located at latitude 33.34 degrees North and longitude 76.70 degrees East in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Earthquake of Magnitude 3.6 on Richter Scale hit 33 km North-West of Kishtwar at 8:53 am today,” an official statement said.
Notably, the entire Himalayan region is highly vulnerable to tremors and witnesses frequent seismic activity. The latest incident comes just days after a 3.9 magnitude quake shook parts of J&K on January 4.
Before that, mild tremors were felt in the Doda region on January 2 and Kupwara district on December 30, 2022. Fortunately, no considerable damage to life or infrastructure has been recorded in any of these recent earthquakes.
Meanwhile, experts have warned about a high probability of a high-intensity earthquake occurring in the Kashmir valley, which is situated in Seismic Zone V. Last major quake in the region took place in 2005 when parts of J&K witnessed massive destruction.
Concerned authorities have been advised to maintain preparations and awareness campaigns to deal with any such natural calamity. Training people in emergency response and keeping medical units on standby is vital to counter earthquake threats.
