21 mild tremors jolt Rajkot district; panic in three talukas

Rajkot: A series of tremors measuring between 2.6 and 3.8 on the Richter scale jolted Saurashtra region between Thursday night and Friday afternoon, triggering panic among residents of Dhoraji, Jetpur and Upleta talukas in Rajkot district. Many people rushed out of their homes and took shelter in open fields as a precautionary measure.Rajkot collector Om Prakash said that a total of 21 tremors were recorded in the 3 talukas, with magnitudes ranging from 1.4 to 3.8. However, the Gandhinagar-based Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) recorded at least 12 tremors of magnitude 2.6 to 3.8 during the same period. No loss of life or damage to property was reported so far, officials said.The first tremor, measuring 3.3 in magnitude, was recorded at 8.43pm on Thursday, with its epicentre near Upleta town. According to ISR, the epicenter of the tremors were located 27 km to 30 km east-northeast of Upleta.Following the repeated jolts, fear gripped residents of the affected talukas. Locals said they ran out of their houses after the first tremor and continued to experience mild intermittent shaking until Friday afternoon. Several families spent hours in open areas, fearing further tremors.In view of the situation, the Rajkot District Education Officer (DEO) declared a holiday in govt schools in Dhoraji and Jetpur on Friday. DEO Dixit Patel said govt schools, which start at 10am, were closed in around 118 schools across the two talukas, while private schools in Jetpur also announced a holiday."There was no report of loss of life or property due to the earthquake swarm," Prakash said, adding that the district administration identified old and unsafe buildings in the affected areas and appealed to residents to shift to safer places."We informed teachers, talatis, and sarpanchs after identifying rickety buildings. A day-long holiday was declared in all anganwadis and schools housed in old buildings," he said.According to experts, the tremors are classified as an 'earthquake swarm', a phenomenon caused by water seeping into pre-existing fractures in the earth's crust, increasing pore pressure and releasing strain in the form of repeated low-magnitude earthquakes. Such seismic activity generally does not result in major damage, they said.