Nagpur: A mild earthquake measuring 3.6 on Richter scale struck Sironcha taluka in Gadchiroli at around 4.36am on Thursday, with tremors also felt in parts of Aheri and Nagepalli.The tremor prompted local authorities to assess situation across affected areas. However, officials said there were no reports of loss of life, injuries or damage to property. District administration teams have been gathering information from villages, towns where tremors were felt, while monitoring the situation closely.National Centre for Seismology recorded the tremor at 4.36 am at a shallow depth of about 10 km. Its epicentre lay in forested interior of Sironcha, close to the Maharashtra-Telangana border.Collector Avishyant Panda said administration is assessing situation and appealed people to not panic, circulate unverified messages.This is not the first time south Gadchiroli has felt the earth move. In February this year a 3.9-magnitude quake, with its epicentre in Telangana’s Mancherial district near Ramagundam, was felt in Aheri, Allapalli and Sironcha.Similar mild events were recorded in October 2021 (4.3) and October 2022 (3.8).Environmental and geology researcher Prof Suresh Chopane said the earthquake occurred along Godavari Valley Fault, a neotectonic fault line that extends from Sironcha to Mul. Gadchiroli falls within seismic zone III, making it susceptible to moderate intraplate seismic activity.According to Chopane, the earthquake may be linked to hydroseismicity, a phenomenon in which changes in the groundwater pressure trigger minor seismic events.Such activity is often observed during or after monsoon when rising groundwater levels increase stress along existing fault lines.
