5.3 quake jolts Gujarat, tremors in Mumbai

The epicentre of the quake of moderate intensity, which shook the state at around 2248 hours, was 20km south east of Sasangir near Vanthali town in Junagadh district, said the Indian Met Department.

 

Officials said the quake was felt for 25 seconds in Junagadh and people rushed out of their homes in panic.

 

The tremor was felt in several other parts of the state, including Ahmedabad.

 

The state was rocked by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake on January 26, 2001 leaving 20,000 people dead and causing widespread destruction with the worst-affected being the Kutch region.

Tremors were also felt in Mumbai, a senior Met department official said.

 

"The epicentre of the earthquake which registered 5.3 on Richter scale was at Junagadh in Gujarat...tremors were felt here," director of Met Department at Mumbai, Rajeev Nair, told PTI.

US Geological Survey reported that the quake was epicentred 38 km south of Junagadh and 126 km South-Southwest of Rajkot.

The Geological Survey also said that the depth of the quake was 15.5 km.

Eyewitnesses said that there was utter chaos in Talala, where the entire city was plunged into darkness following a power outage caused by the quake.