The earthquake that rocked parts of Prakasam and Guntur Andhra Pradesh in the early hours of Wednesday was caused by the plate motion stress and resulted in six small aftershocks subsequently, according to Srinagesh, seismologist at the CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) here.
The NGRI observatory and 16 seismic stations across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana recorded the “tectonic earthquake”, which was of magnitude four on the Richter Scale. He, however, said that there was no cause for concern and the aftershocks were tapering off.
The epicentre of the earthquake was 20 k.m. south of Chilkaluripeta in Guntur District. He said that the region was moderately active seismically with small magnitude earthquakes. An earthquake of 4.1 magnitude had occurred in the same vicinity in 1996. A number of smaller tremors were recorded in the region over a period of time, he added.
Another seismologist, R. K. Chadha, said it was part of Stable Continental Region (SCR) earthquake. Prakasam was one such area which has been witnessing small tremors.
