Moderate earthquake felt in parts of Uttarakhand

DEHRADUN: A moderate earthquake shook parts of Uttarakhand's Chamoli district in the wee hours today jolting people out of their sleep.

A quake of 5.1 magnitude on the richter scale occurred in Chamoli district at 2.53 AM. Having a latitude of 30.2 degrees north and a longitude of 79.4 degrees east, it lasted a few seconds, MeT office Director Anand Sharma told PTI.

There was no immediate report of any casualty or damage to property, officials said.

Though the tremors were moderate, they were strong enough to jolt residents in places like Chamoli and Gopeshwar out of their sleep.

Fear-stricken residents ran out of their houses and could not sleep for the rest of the night, Chamoli's Assistant Development Officer Sunita Rautela said.

Information is still being gathered but there has been no report so far of any damage due to the earthquake, Chamoli's District Magistrate Ashok Kumar said.