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A
mild earthquake struck the adjacent
border regions of the districts of Latehar and Lohardaga,
Jharkhand, on 21 March 2007 at 22:04 PM
local time. It had a magnitude of M?=3.3
and was felt in many parts of the Chhota Nagpur Plateau causing
minor damage.
The earthquake was centred
7.6 kms N of Balumath (Jharkhand), India,
25.1 kms NNE of Chandwa (Jharkhand), India,
34.9 kms NE of Latehar (Jharkhand), India,
53.2 kms NNE of Lohardaga (Jharkhand), India,
77.2 kms ESE of Daltonganj (Jharkhand), India,
81.9 kms NW of Ranchi (Jharkhand), India,
102 kms SSW of Gaya (Bihar), India.
120 kms W of Bokaro (Jharkhand), India,
167 kms W of Dhanbad (Jharkhand), India,
190 kms NW of Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), India.
Tremors were felt
strongly at Kuru in Latehar district and woke up many people who
were asleep. A few people were reportedly "thrown off" their beds.
In parts of Lohardaga
district it was experienced for a duration of 5-seconds. Doors and
windows rattled under the impact of the tremor and people went
outdoors. In Lohardaga, cracks developed in the
walls of hostel and other buildings of the Ursuline Woman's
Teacher's Training College and many window panes cracked. The
strongest tremors were felt in northern parts of Lohardaga town.
Houses were shaken at Brahani and Sikni in the Chandwa area of
Latehar district.
It was also felt for 10-12 seconds at Balumath, Chandwa & Latehar in Latehar
district. Here, it was accompanied by the sound
of a train and loose objects rattled. A 5-foot
crack is thought to have developed outside a house in Chandwa.
Elsewhere in the district it was felt at Barwadih, Garu, Mahuadanr
and Manika. Many people spent the night outdoors fearing a
stronger earthquake would follow. At Chatra, in the district of
the same name, people heard doors & windows as well as household
articles rattling. Light tremors were felt as far as
at Gumla & Sisai in Gumla district, at
Bhurkunda (including PTPS), Patratu in
Hazaribagh district, Khilari, Mandar &
Ranchi in Ranchi district. No damage or
injuries have been reported as a result of this earthquake.
Rumours of another stronger earthquake at 2 A.M. the following
morning resulted in widespread panic in the region. Many people
spent the entire night outdoors in the aforementioned areas. In
Ranchi, patients were brought out of the hospitals and elsewhere
in the region announcements were made from mosques to alert
people. Panic spread in areas of adjoining districts, including
those that did not experience such as Bhawanathpur, Bishnupur (Gumla),
Daltonganj (Palamau), Jhumri Telaiya (Hazaribagh), Hazaribagh,
Ramgarh Cantonment and Simdega.
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