An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.2 on the Richter scale jolted Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi on Saturday evening, according to the National Center for Seismology (NCS).
The NCS reported that the quake struck at about 8:07 PM, with its epicentre reported at a spot 11km deep into the ground—a region located just 2km away from the Uttarkashi district headquarters.
The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) also notified that the quake's magnitude was 4.2, though it also said that its epicentre was located 3km west-northwest of Uttarkashi.
No casualties have been reported at the time of writing this article.
This comes just days after the state was rocked by an earthquake of magnitude 4.9, which let off stronger tremors in various surrounding regions, such as Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab.
The National Center for Seismology traced the epicentre of that quake to Chamoli in Uttarakhand, pointing out that the it originated at 10:23 PM from a region 50 km south of Joshimath, and at a focal depth of 13km.
In this case, however, the US Geological Survey and the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre claimed its magnitude was higher—5.1 on the Richter scale.
It was this earthquake that was ended up being one of the factors behind the sudden collapse of a residential building in Delhi's Seemapuri area, locals had claimed.
Saleem, a local who claimed that his family lived in the collapsed building, told IANS that after the earthquake, some people had already been evacuated, with others on their way out when the building had suddenly collapsed, killing at least five people.
Others claimed that the building—which is already 40-50 years old—had developed cracks due to the impact of the tremors, though officials said that the exact reason for the collapse would be declared later.
