Uttarakhand rattled by effects of 7.5 magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan
The effects of the 7.5 magnitude earthquake echoed in the entire belt of the Indian Himalayas. Residents of the hilly state of Uttarakhand felt the effects of the tremor at around 2 pm. Men, women and children scampered out of residential buildings as did people from their offices and business establishments as fans, TV sets and flower pots shook due to the tremors. Unlike the Nepal earthquake earlier this year which lasted for a few seconds, this earthquake lasted for well over a minute causing more panic among the people.
People were also seen standing outside their offices for at least half an hour after the earthquake fearing aftershocks.
Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre (DMMC) officials said there has been no report of any damage to life and property from anywhere so far even as tremors were felt in several areas of the state including Mussoorie, Dehradun, Haridwar, Roorkee and Rishikesh.
“The possibility of damage anywhere in Uttarakhand is very remote as the epicentre of the quake was over a thousand KM away in the Hindukush region of Afghanistan. But the tremors were felt everywhere in the state prompting people to run onto the streets,” DMMC Executive Director Piyush Rautela told PTI.
