An earthquake of magnitude 4.2 has hit parts of Bihar and Jharkhand at 8:05 am (IST). The epicentre was located 8 km South-west of Madhupur, which is situated in Deoghar district, Jharkhand. The depth of this mild earthquake has been recorded as 10 km.
The epicentre was 216 km south-east of Patna and 160 km north-east of Ranchi. Tremors were felt many areas of Jharkhand and Bihar including Jamui, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Banka, Deoghar, and Dhanbad.
So far, no casualties have been reported. When an earthquake of magnitude less than 5 is reported, usually, loss of life and property is not recorded. Just a week, ago an earthquake of magnitude 7.2 had hit Tajikistan. Tremors were felt in many areas across the hills and plains of North India.
In April 2015, Nepal was hit by a devastating earthquake. During this time, due to Bihar’s close location to Nepal, the state was severely affected with scores of casualties and loss of property in the region. Most parts of North and East India right from Jammu and Kashmir lie in the Seismic zone 4 and 5.
However, the area where the recent quake occurred lies in Zone 5. In the foothills of the Himalayas, the Indian plate and Eurasian plate meet while moving in the opposite direction. The Indian plate moves towards the North and the Eurasian plate moves towards the south.
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