Yet another earthquake in Palghar leaves one dead

Cattle shed, where the victim was sleeping, collapses

July 25, 2019 04:00 pm | Updated July 26, 2019 09:18 am IST - Mumbai

Crash site:  The spot where Rishya Meghawale (below) was killed in an earthquake in Palghar on Thursday morning.

Crash site: The spot where Rishya Meghawale (below) was killed in an earthquake in Palghar on Thursday morning.

A 55-year-old man lost his life and a woman was injured when a low-intensity earthquake hit Palghar district in the early hours of July 25.

Rishya Meghwale and his wife were asleep in their cattle shed in Bondpada village of Dahanu taluka when an earthquake of magnitude 3.8 hit the village. When the shed collapsed, the tiles of the roof of the house fell on Meghwale and he sustained severe chest injuries. His wife suffered minor injuries on her back.

According to the post-mortem report, Meghwale’s rib cage got crushed and caused a lung injury which resulted in his death.

J.L. Gautam from the seismology department of Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said, “The first earthquake of magnitude 3.8 on the Richter scale occurred at 1.03 a.m. at Latitude 20.0 North and Longitude 72.9 East, while the second quake of magnitude 3.6 was recorded at 1.15 a.m, both at a depth of 10 km.”

Vivekanand Kadam, chief of Palghar district disaster management team said Dhundalwadi village in Dahanu was the epicenter of the tremors which the district has been experiencing since November last year.

“People in Dahanu, Boisar and Talasari experienced the tremors when the first quake hit the villages. Apart from the death of Meghwale, no other casualties were reported. Our team is conducting a survey of all the villages that felt the vibrations and steps are being taken to reassure villagers,” he said.

Vijay Nangre a resident of Bondpada said that people are worried as earthquakes have started hitting the place frequently since last month. “As Meghwale’s house was near his farm which is located on the periphery of the village, we got to know about the accident only in the morning. We have requested the district collector to shift us to an alternative location for a couple of months as the accident has instilled fear in the villagers,” he said.

Yet another resident, Vasant Vasawla, said Meghwale’s death came as a shock to the villagers. Several houses in the village also developed minor cracks but thankfully, the villagers are safe, he said.

Sanjay Ahare who manages the Loyola Ashram School in Dongripada village in Dahanu said, “Around 1 a.m we experienced major tremors and a while later there were minor vibrations. We just hope that no major earthquake hits the village.”

Dr. Naresh Rana from the India Meteorological Department said that the cause of the earthquake is not known yet and that scientists are still studying the pattern of quakes. “There is a possibility that they were caused due to rains. Sometimes rainwater percolates in the fractures in the crust and causes quakes,” he said.

District Collector Dr. Kailash Shinde said that a compensation of ₹4 lakh had been given to the family of the deceased. “The roof of Meghwale’s house collapsed as it was a cattle shed and not strong enough to stand the tremors. We are creating awareness in the region about how to react in the wake of an earthquake to avoid future mishaps. Surveys are being conducted in the region and if need be, an alternative location will be made available for the people living in vulnerable areas,” Dr. Shinde said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.