For the second day in a row, an earthquake was recorded in Chikkaballapura district at 2.16 p.m. on December 23, according to National Centre for Seismology, which put the magnitude at 3.6 on the Richter scale. Residents of Settigere and other nearby villages ran out of their homes on feeling the land trembling.
The epicentre was 1.2 km south east of Sadenahalli in Gollahalli gram panchayat. Tremors were also felt 1.3 km north west of Beeraganahalli in Gollahalli gram panchayat, and 2.8 km south west of Settigere in Addagallu gram panchayat. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 18 km, according to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC).
National Centre for Seismology recorded another earthquake of magnitude 3.5, with the epicentre 50 km north west north of Vellore in Tamil Nadu, at 3.14 p.m.
On December 22 morning, two earthquakes of magnitude 3.1 (7.09 a.m.) and 3.3 (7.14 a.m.) had been recorded in Chikkaballapura district.
In a district that has rarely experienced earthquakes, quakes on successive days have sent shockwaves. People are scared and concerned.
According to KSNDMC: “As per the seismic intensity map of the earthquake from the epicentre, the intensity observed is moderate. The tremor might be felt up to a maximum radial distance of 30 km from the epicentre. This type of earthquake does not create any harm to the local community, although slight shaking may be observed. The community need not panic as the intensity observed was moderate and not destructive.”
KSNDMC attributed these events to the “..region falling in a hard rock granitoid and gneissic terrain, and is located in Seismic Zone II, wherein the possible damage due to earthquakes is less. Also, the region is void of any structural discontinuities as per the tectonic map.”