Breaking: Earthquake of 5.3 magnitude in Telangana

Hyderabad: Parts of Telangana including Hyderabad felt tremors on Wednesday morning.

According to the National Center for Seismology, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 hit Mulugu at 7:27 AM on the Richter scale.

Mild tremors were also felt in parts of Andhra Pradesh including Vijayawada, Eluru and Nandigama.

Mild tremors were also felt in Gadchiroli district.

Gadchiroli Collector Sanjay Daine has appealed to the citizens to be vigilant and take shelter in a safe place in an open space outside the building without panicking.

According to Weather Experts, it is for the first time in the last 20 years, one of the strongest earthquake occurred with 5.3 magnitude earthquake at Mulugu as epicentre.

Speaking to NewsMeter, retired chief scientist, National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) Dr Sri Nagesh said: “Telangana reported an earthquake of magnitude 5.3 on Richter scale on December 4 morning. The depth of the earthquake is 40 kilometers. As per the NCS, the earthquake originated in the Godavari rift. However, it is not the first of its kind. In 1969 an earthquake of similar magnitude occurred in Telangana and it was called the Bhadrachalam earthquake. If you look at the Telangana region, there are two Seismic zones, 2 and 3, respectively. Today’s earthquake occurred in seismic zone 3.”

“Most importantly, this earthquake is a reminder for state municipalities to access the safety of the built environment for future design for buildings, As per the seismic zoning map of India, The municipality regulations of buildings should be as per the IS18:93:2016 seismic senses. Since municipalities give building approvals, they should follow the regularities as per the seismic map.”

Tremors felt in Maharashtra too

Tremors also felt in Maharashtra's Nagpur and Gadchiroli districts. Light tremors were felt in Nagpur, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD) sources and local residents. Light tremors are generally felt 200 to 300 km from the epicentre of the earthquake, the IMD officials said.

Mild shocks were also experienced in Gadchiroli, which is located very close to Telangana, according to the district information office. In Chandrapur, parts of the city, Ballarpur and tehsils adjoining the Telangana border also experienced mild tremors, a district administration official said.

Chandrapur Collector Vinay Gowda appealed to residents not to panic, and asked them to stay vigilant and move to open spaces outside buildings if such tremors are felt again.