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A
series of minor tremors have been felt in south-central Maharashtra, in the town of
Nanded
(population 4,30,733) since 13 November 2006.
Based media reports & on felt reports received
by this website, activity in
this sequence increased notably on 31
March 2007 and reduced by May only to pick up once more in
the end of October continuing into January 2008.
The strongest events were felt on 31 March 2007 and then on
12 November 2007 & 14 December 2007 causing widespread panic.
Over 500 events have been felt since late 2006. Since the first tremors,
brontides
(natural explosive sounds) have been heard in the town of Nanded
with or without being accompanied by felt tremors.
Residents in northern parts of Nanded town that has been
worst hit by the tremors have moved to safer areas or are staying
outdoors in temporarily erected shacks in front of their
homes. Following the tremors in December 2007 there
have been reports of changes in colour of water discharged from a tubewell in Nanded.
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If you have felt any of these tremors please
fill out this questionnaire. Please make sure
you mention the TIME & DATE when you felt these tremors. For
information on earthquake precautions & safety measures
please see the
Be
Earthquake Safe!
section on this website.
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Earthquakes swarms can be defined as a series of earthquakes in
the same magnitude range that are closely spaced in time and
originating in the same region but devoid of a mainshock
(principal large event). They can last from as little as a few
hours to as long as several months (eg. Matsushiro, Japan,
1965-1966). Swarms can be precursory or non-precursory but
establishing either is only feasible in hindsight.
Earthquake swarms have occurred in other parts of India
including
Jind (Haryana) in 2003 and
Bhavnagar (Gujarat) in 2000. The exact cause of the subterranean sounds is
not clear. It is a
possibility that they are similar to Brontides or "Barisal Guns"
often heard in Bengal. Such occurrences have been reported from
other parts of Maharashtra in the last decade, eg. Bansur in 1996.
Preliminary
epicentral
co-ordinates of the events on 31 March,
12 November and 14 December are available from the IMD. The
approximate locations of these events based on these co-ordinates
are given herewith. Please be aware that these are preliminary
epicentral locations and might be erroneous (especially for the 14
December event).
The event on
Saturday, 31 March 2007 at 20:57 PM local time (15:27 UTC)
was centred:
2.2 kms E of Kapsi (Maharashtra), India,
17.3 kms SE of Nanded (Maharashtra), India,
37.1 kms SW of Bhokar (Maharashtra), India,
59.5 kms WSW of Bhainsa (Maharashtra), India,
72 kms ESE of Parbhani (Maharashtra), India,
81.7 kms WNW of Nizamabad (Andhra Pradesh), India,
110 kms ENE of Latur (Maharashtra), India.
The event on Monday, 12 November 2007 at 20:18 PM local
time (14:48 UTC)
was centred:
2.5 NE of Ardhpur (Maharashtra),
India,
18.5 kms NNE of Nanded (Maharashtra), India.
30 kms WNW of Bhokar (Maharashtra), India.
54.2 kms SSE of Hingoli (Maharashtra), India.
70.6 kms S of Pusad (Maharashtra), India.
101 kms NNW of Nizamabad (Andhra Pradesh), India,
132 kms NE of Latur (Maharashtra), India.
The event on Friday, 14 December 2007 at 17:57 PM local
time (12:27 UTC) was centred:
5.4 kms E of Ghogri (Maharashtra), India,
9.5 kms NNE of Bhokar (Maharashtra), India,
22.7 kms SSE of Hadgaon (Maharashtra), India,
33.8 kms NW of Bhainsa (Maharashtra), India,
44.7 kms ENE of Nanded (Maharashtra), India,
75.2 kms SE of Hingoli (Maharashtra), India,
81.9 kms NW of Nizamabad (Andhra Pradesh), India,
97.6 kms E of Parbhani (Maharashtra), India,
155 kms NE of Latur (Maharashtra), India.
NOTABLE EVENTS
Listed
below are events that were felt or recorded
since this swarm began in November 2006.
Minor damage and a few injuries were reported as a result of the
tremors in Nanded.
In March 2007 and April 2007, residents in northern parts of Nanded
town that has been worst hit by the tremors have moved to safer
areas or are staying outdoors.
27 January 2008
Felt reports indicate the occurrence of
a tremor at approximately 01:30 AM IST
that was strong enough to wake people up and visibly shake
light furniture. A loud sound was heard prior to the tremors that
were felt for 5-seconds thereafter.
23 January 2008
Felt reports indicate
a tremor was felt at approximately
11:00 AM IST.
8 January 2008
Felt reports indicate the occurrence of
a tremor at approximately 00:04 AM IST that
was felt by many persons and disturbed standing water. Another
felt event occurred at 09:10 AM IST that shook light furniture and
lasted 10-seconds. Later, at 21:15 PM IST another tremor
was felt that was accompanied by a rumbling noise. It was felt by
many people and hanging objects were considerably disturbed.
5
January 2008
Felt reports indicate the occurrence of
a tremor at approximately 00:10 AM IST that
was felt by many persons and disturbed standing water.
2
January 2008
Felt reports indicate the occurrence of
a tremors at approximately 00:10 AM IST and 07:30 AM IST that
were felt by many persons. At least 20 shocks have been perceived
by the residents of Nanded since 1 January 2008.
1
January 2008
After an apparent lull of 10 days, felt reports indicate the
occurrence of tremors at approximately 01:28 AM IST,
01:48 AM IST, 02:06 AM IST, 02:08 AM IST, 02:46 AM IST and 04:15
AM IST. The event at
02:06 AM IST was felt by many persons and disturbed standing water.
Two shocks were also felt by many persons at 23:31 PM IST,
23:34 PM IST and 23:40 PM IST. The event at 23:34 lasted 6-7 seconds
and was
strong enough to shake light furniture and to disturb standing
water. These tremors were felt in the city's Srinagar and
Viveknagar areas.
27
December 2007
A mild tremor is believed to have been felt in Nanded on this day.
20 December 2007
Felt reports indicate the occurrence of three tremors at
approximately 01:20 AM IST, 03:36 AM IST and 03:44 AM IST that
were felt by many persons. The event at 03:36 AM IST
appears to the strongest of the three, as it was felt by many
persons, shook furniture in houses and disturbed standing water.
19 December 2007
Felt reports indicate the occurrence of three tremors at
approximately 01:44 AM IST, 02:13 AM IST and 03:24 AM IST that
were felt by many persons and disturbed standing water.
Further tremors were experienced at 06:22 AM IST, 10:30 AM IST,
12:13 PM IST, 14:44 PM IST and 15:34 PM IST. The effect of these
tremors was the greatest in the Taroda and Workshop areas of
Nanded. Brontides were heard on at least five occasions during the
day.
17 December 2007
A M2.7 tremor was felt
for close to 17-seconds at 03:52 AM IST that
was strong enough to wake up those asleep.
Hanging objects were disturbed, minor cracks developed in some
buildings and at least one wall collapsed. Many people ran outdoors in
panic and the accompanying blast was heard all over Nanded
including at Bhagyanagar, Kailashnagar, Shivajinagar, Srinagar,
Viveknagar, Workshop and Yeshwant College. It was also felt at
Ardhapur, CIDCO-HUDCO, Malegaon, Purna, Vadhala, Vajegaon. It was
followed by a M1.3 event at 04:05 AM IST. By the end of this day,
a brontides were heard on a total of 46 occasions.
15 December 2007
Explosion-like sounds were heard at 02:46 AM IST and again
at 07:17 AM IST. The first detonation was very audible in the
Taroda area.
14 December 2007
In total, 10 tremors were felt on this date. These were at
(IST) 02:51 AM, 08:14 AM, 13:07 PM, 15:38 PM, 16:36 PM, 17:41 PM,
17:42 PM and 17:57 PM. The last at 17:57 IST had a magnitude of
M2.7 and caused minor damage to a few houses in the Yeshwantnagar
area of the Nanded. Discoloured water is
understood to have been discharged from a tubewell in the same area and samples were taken
by officials from two local
colleges. Many people rushed outdoors when this event struck. It
was felt at Bhavsar Chowk, Chaitanyanagar,
CIDCO-HUDCO, the District Court area, Ganeshnagar, Kailashnagar,
Maniknagar, Sinchan Bhavan, Srinagar, Vajirabad & Viveknagar as well
as in the neighbouring villages such as Malegaon.
In the Srinagar
and Police Colony areas of Nanded, people spent the night in makeshift tents put up
hastily.
6 December 2007
A total of 10 tremors were felt in Nanded on this date.
These were recorded at (IST) 04:59 AM, 05:04 AM, 11:28 AM, 11:32
AM, 11:57 AM, 16:08 PM and 16:50 PM. Another three events were
felt thereafter but the times of these are unavailable. The
magnitudes of the event at 05:04 AM and 16:08 PM were reported as
being M1.3 and M1.2.
8
December
2007
Two events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
7
December
2007
Five events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
6 December
2007
Twelve events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
4 December
2007
One event is reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
27 November 2007
A mild shock at 12:30 PM IST that caused a mild trembling
that was felt by many people.
24
November 2007
Two events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
22 November
2007
One event is reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
21 November
2007
Six events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
20 November
2007
Fourteen events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
19 November
2007
Seven events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
17 November
2007
Six events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
16 November
2007
Nine events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
21 November
2007
Two events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
14 November
2007
Fourty-nine events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
13 November 2007
Explosion-like sounds, sometimes accompanied by tremors,
were felt in the Snehanagar, Srinagar, Taroda & Viveknagar among
other places in Nanded town early on the morning of 13 November.
They were reported at (IST) 01:44 AM, 01:46 AM, 02:15 AM, 02:42
AM, 06:25 AM, 06:27 AM, 08:06 AM, 08:25 AM, 10:15 AM, 12:13 AM,
13:25 PM, 13:40 PM, 15:43 PM and at 17:52 PM.
In total, 40 events are reported to have been recorded on this
date.
12 November
2007
Several mild tremors were felt in the town of Nanded and in
villages within a 10-kilometre radius of the town on the evening
of 12 November 2007. The first was felt at 19:57 IST (14:27 UTC) and was
followed by events at 19:58 IST (14:28 UTC), 20:17 IST (14:47 UTC) and 21:17 IST
(15:47 UTC). By the
following morning i.e. at 5 AM on 13 November, a total of 44
tremors were felt in the region.
The tremor at 20:18 PM was the largest and was
felt in the Nanded area for 6-7 seconds. It is thought to be one
of the strongest and most widely felt event in several months.
Walls developed cracks, window panes were broken in some
instances, light furniture was displaced and traffic came to a
halt. Power supply failed in parts of the town adding to the
panic that resulted in many running outdoors. In an isolated instance, the roof of a house on Ramrao Pawar
Road in the Srinagar area of Nanded is thought to have given way
and collapsed without resulting in any injuries. This event was
felt throughout Nanded including at Ashoknagar Jangamwadi,
Babanagar, Bhagyanagar, Gyneshwarnagar, Kailashnagar, Police
Colony, Prabhatnagar, Ravinagar, Shyamnagar, Srinagar, Vidhyanagar
and Yeshwantnagar. Utensils fell in several houses in the Sambhaji
Chowk area near Sidco. This tremor was also felt in the adjoining villages
of Bhokar Phata, Dabhad, Limbgaon, Pimpalgaon and Shelgaon in the
Ardhpur taluka. Frightened residents of Nanded spend the entire
night outdoors filling open spaces such at that in the Police
Colony and on Ramrao Pawar Road in fear of further and perhaps
stronger earthquakes. In total, 37 events are
reported to have been recorded on this date.
11
November
2007
Twelve events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
19 October 2007
Two mild tremors were felt at 7 AM IST and 9 AM IST that
was felt by persons who were awake. Hanging objects were disturbed
and light furniture was visibly shaken. In
addition, forty events are reported to have been recorded on this
date.
16 April 2007
Two tremors were experienced on Monday, 16 April 2007. The first
was felt at night and the second at dawn. The tremor that was felt
during the night occurred in the midst of a thunder storm and
added to the panic. These tremors were felt at Ashoknagar,
Jangamwadi, Kailashnagar, Nizam Colony, Prabhatnagar, Srinagar,
Vidhyanagar and Viveknagar in Nanded.
10 April 2007
Three tremors were recorded on Tuesday, 10 April 2007. These
included a magnitude 0.7 at 02:17 IST (20:47 UTC), a magnitude 0.5 at
03:04 IST (21:34 UTC), a magnitude 0.3 at 06:53 IST (01:13 UTC) and
a magnitude 0.8 at 11:20 IST (05:50 UTC).
9 April 2007
Seven tremors were recorded on Monday, 9 April 2007. These
included a magnitude 1.1 at 01:47 IST (20:17 UTC), a magnitude 0.5 at
01:48 IST (20:18 UTC), a magnitude 0.5 at 02:59 IST (21:29 UTC), a magnitude 0.5 at
04:53 IST (23:23 UTC),
a magnitude 0.3 at 05:19 IST (23:49 UTC),
a magnitude 0.5 at 09:58 IST (04:28 UTC) and a
magnitude 0.3 at 10:49 IST (05:19 UTC).
8
April 2007
Five tremors were recorded on Sunday, 8 April 2007. All events had
magnitudes lower than 1.0, i.e., a magnitude 0.3 at 02:51 IST (21:21 UTC),
a magnitude 0.5 at 5:29 IST (23:59 UTC), magnitude 0.5 at 11:43
IST (06:23 UTC), a magnitude 0.7 at 12:04 IST (06:55 UTC) and
a magnitude 0.5 at 15:30 IST (10:00 UTC). This was followed by a
magnitude 1.7 event at 20:03 IST (14:33 UTC), a magnitude 1.2 event
at 20:06 IST (14:36 UTC), a magnitude 0.5 event at 21:05 IST (15:35 UTC), a magnitude 0.5 event at 21:36
IST (16:06 UTC) and a
magnitude 0.5 event at 23:15 IST (17:45 UTC).
7 April 2007
Two tremors were recorded on Saturday, 7 April 2007. The first
occurred at 22:20 IST (16:50 UTC) and had a magnitude of 1.3. This
was followed within 10-minutes by another smaller event at 22:30
IST (17:00 UTC) and had a magnitude of 0.5. A
"Homhavan" and "Purnahuti"
Yagnas were organized along with the singing of "bhajans" by the
Srinagar Mitramandal in Nanded town to pray for the situation to
calm down on this day.
5
April 2007
Although no new tremors were recorded on 4 April, four minor micro
events were recorded on 5 April. The first earthquake with a
magnitude of 0.7 was recorded at 07:18 IST (01:38 UTC). This was
followed by a magnitude 0.1 event at 10:09 IST (04:39 UTC), a
magnitude 1.0 at 14:24 IST (08:54 UTC) and lastly, a magnitude 0.7
at 17:33 IST (12:03 UTC).
3
April 2007
On
3 April, a loud report was heard along with a tremor at 19:44 PM
IST (14:14 UTC) and was followed by another shock within five
minutes sending people running outdoors in fear. It had a
magnitude reported variously between 2.0 and 3.2. In total,
sixteen events are reported to have been recorded on this date.
2 April 2007
Utensils fell and broke in a house in the Viveknagar area during
tremors on 2 April 2007. In total, eight events are reported to
have been recorded on this date.
1 April 2007
Another event of M1.2 was recorded at 05:33 IST (23:53 UTC) on 1
April 2007 while other tremors were felt at 03:40 IST (22:10 UTC),
04:35 IST (23:05 UTC) and around 9 IST (03:30 UTC). In total, nine
events are reported to have been recorded on this date.
31 March 2007
The
residents of Nanded were startled by loud explosions that were
often accompanied by mild tremors on 31 March 2007. The first
report was heard at 05:10 AM local time (23:40 UTC. Local time
henceforth denoted by IST) and was audible throughout the city
including at Ashoknagar, Ayurvedic College, Chaitanyanagar,
Ganeshnagar, Gowardhan Ghat Road, Jangamwadi, Kushinagar,
Lumbininagar, Mahavir Society, Nizam Colony, Patanurkarnagar,
Prabhatnagar, Pretamnagar, Police Colony, Sambhajinagar, Saptgiri
Colony, Shivajinagar, Someshwarnagar, Srinagar, Taroda Naka,
Vidhyanagar, Vishnunagar, Viveknagar, Wazirabad and Yashwantnagar.
Many people were woken up and some ran outdoors in panic. Cracks
developed in kuccha houses as well as in a few houses in the
Srinagar area of the city. In a few instances, loose items were
knocked over in shops. Kitchen utensils and doors were heard
rattling loudly. In the Police Colony, employees and their
families went outdoors and remained in the open. One child was
slightly injured in the panic that ensued in this part of the
town. The frequent tremors have compelled people all over Nanded
town to spend the night outdoors. This was followed by several
explosion-like noises throughout the day and most notably at 06:45
IST (01:15 UTC), 11:50 IST (06:40 UTC), 12:46 IST (07:16 UTC) and
14:42 IST (09:12 UTC). The IMD reported a M2.8 event later that day
at 20:57 IST (15:27 UTC) while the seismological observatory at
Latur recorded a M1.3 event at 12:46 IST (07:16 UTC) and a M2.0
event at 14:42 IST (09:12 UTC) in the Nanded region. During the
tremor at 20:57 IST part of the ceiling of a house in the Mayur
Vihar area of the town to collapsed and injured a woman. This
tremor was strongly felt in most of Nanded and shook buildings.
In total, eighteen events are reported to have been recorded on
this date.
21
December 2006
Two events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
18
December 2006
One event is reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
12
December 2006
Six events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
11
December 2006
Five events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
10
December 2006
Seven events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
9
December 2006
Thirteen events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
7
December 2006
Five events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
6
December 2006
Three events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
1
December 2006
Two events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
28 November
2006
One event is reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
21 November
2006
One event is reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
20 November
2006
One event is reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
19 November
2006
One event is reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
14 November
2006
Two events are reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
13 November
2006
One event is reported to have been recorded.
Felt information lacking.
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