Uttarakhand: Earthquake of 3.1 magnitude hits Pithoragarh

An earthquake of 3.1 magnitude struck Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district on Tuesday morning around 6.43am with the epicentre around 5km beneath the earth’s surface, according to the National Center for Seismology website.

On Monday, a 2.2 magnitude earthquake was reported in Bageshwar district at 9.22pm, over a fortnight after another earthquake of 2.8 magnitude was reported in the same district on May 11. Earlier this month, on May 7, a 2.6 magnitude earthquake was reported in Uttarkashi district.

Last month, the state reported two earthquakes, in Dehradun district on April 17 of magnitude 2.8, and another in Haridwar district of magnitude 3.

The National Center for Seismology is the nodal agency of the Centre under the Earth Sciences ministry to monitor earthquake activity in the country.

The Himalayas are the youngest mountain range (around 50 million years old) in the world, which rises (around 5 mm per year) as the Indian tectonic plate folds under the Tibetan plate, Uttarakhand reports high seismic activity, with most areas falling under Seismic Zones IV and V.