Frequent tremors trigger exodus from Chincholi villages

A house wears a deserted look at the village. DH PHOTO/TAJUDDIN AZAD 

People have started leaving their homes in fear as a mild earthquake struck twice in some villages of Chincholi taluk in the district on Tuesday morning.

About 25 villages in Chincholi, Kalagi, Sedam and Kamalapur taluks experience tremors frequently, it is said.

After the tremors on Monday night, people slept on the roads out of fear. Some women, afraid of entering their homes, were seen cooking on the roads. Cattle have also been tied outside the houses. Mild tremors were reported from Gadikeshwar village at 8.07 am and 8.18 am on Tuesday.

The Sharanasirasagi station of the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre recorded mild tremors of 3.5 and 2.8 magnitude on the Richter scale.

Revanasiddappa Anakal of Gadikeshwar village said residents of several villages often heard a loud sound from beneath the ground and experienced mild tremors. But this is the first time that they were experiencing the tremors with such high frequency, he said.

Another resident Mangalamurthy said people heard a loud sound when they were about to go to work in the morning. After a while, they experienced tremors.

There are about 800 houses in Gadikeshwar village and frequent tremors have forced about 500 families to leave the village.

While few people went to the houses of their relatives or friends in other villages, others have taken shelter in the huts erected in farmlands. The people, along with essentials, were seen leaving the village in buses, tractors, tempo and on motorbikes.

“I am afraid of entering my house. For the past four days, I am cooking some rice in the open field outside the house,” said Kamalabai Pasar, a homemaker in Gadikeshwar.

Deputy Commissioner V V Jyothsna said a mild earthquake of 4.0 magnitude was recorded on the Richter scale in the area on Monday.

The district administration has started a survey of the damaged and dilapidated houses in Gadikeshwar and other
villages.

“We are instilling confidence among the people, besides taking all precautions to face any eventuality. We can’t stop residents from leaving the villages. It seems to be a seasonal mild earthquake. Teams from the Disaster Management Authority will visit the district in the first week of November, she said.

Check out DH's latest videos here: