Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand): An earthquake of magnitude 3.8 on the Richter scale was recorded in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand at 8.58 am on Sunday. The National Centre for Seismology reported that the epicentre of the earthquake is located at latitude 29.78 and longitude 80.13 with a depth of 10 km. However, no casualties or damages have been reported.
Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Uttarkashi, Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts fall under seismic zone-V. The Bureau of Indian Standards has divided the country into four seismic zones viz. Zone-II, Zone-III, Zone-IV and Zone-V. Out of all these four zones, Zone-V is the most seismically active zone while Zone-II is the least.
Tremors were felt twice in Uttarkashi in December last year. At the beginning of 2023, Uttarakhand's Joshimath witnessed severe land subsidence. The winter season and the danger of house collapse due to landslides have become major issue in Joshimath town. Nine wards of Joshimath town were massively affected by landslides. The cracks on the walls and floors of the houses in the city area are getting deeper with each passing day, sounding an alarm for people.
Cracks were reportedly developed in as many as 561 houses in Joshimath as a result of continued land subsidence in the town. So far, 561 houses in different areas of the town have developed cracks, including 153 in Ravigram, 127 in Gandhinagar, 71 in Manoharbagh, 52 in Singhdhar, 50 in Parsari, 29 in Upper Bazar, 27 in Suneel, 28 in Marwadi and 24 in Lower Bazar, stated the District Disaster Management Department. Following the appearance of cracks in the houses, many families are reported to have migrated from Joshimath.
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Chamoli District Magistrate (DM) Himanshu Khurana on Sunday inspected the land identified in Dhaka village for the displacement of people affected by Joshimath land subsidence. Later, he directed the Rural Works Department to start preparing the contour map of the land in Dhaka at the earliest.
After taking suggestions from the affected people, a detailed plan for displacement will be prepared by the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), he said. The CBRI has installed crack meters in the houses affected by land subsidence to assess the damage and progression of cracks in the buildings in Joshimath. Meanwhile, the demolition of 'unsafe' buildings in subsidence-hit Joshimath in Uttarakhand resumed on Saturday. The number of buildings with cracks now stands at 863. Out of these, 181 buildings have been placed in the unsafe zone, the DM informed.
