A magnitude 5.3 earthquake hit Telangana on Wednesday morning at 7.27 am, with the epicenter in Mulugu district of Telangana.The quake was the second strongest in 55 years.
On April 13, 1969, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck and its epicentre was in Bhadrachalam. The cause of the quake was almost the same as 55 years ago, namely due to the Godavari fault zone; there are several fault along the Godavari Basin.
The quake on Wednesday was felt in parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as well as in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. In some other districts such as Hyderabad, the quake was also felt. The depth of the quake was around 40 kilometers and it could be felt over an area of 225 km.
There were no reports of casualties or damage due to the quake. Meanwhile, scientists at the CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) said that aftershocks are likely to occur again in the next few hours due to the higher intensity of the earthquake.
Telangana falls in Seismic Zone II, but in certain seismic zones D. Srinagesh, chief scientist of NGRI, suggested that cities in both states should give permission for buildings designed to withstand earthquakes that may occur again.
With these preventive measures, Srinagesh believes that safety from the effects of earthquakes is very important to minimize loss of life and damage. Because since 1982 in India, victims of earthquakes and landslides have claimed up to 30,000 to 40,000 lives.