Rajkot district in Gujarat was rattled by an extraordinary series of nine earthquakes occurring between Thursday evening and Friday morning, representing a highly unusual seismic swarm for an area not typically associated with frequent activity. The sequence began at 8:43 pm on Thursday and concluded with the final tremor at 8:34 am Friday, compressing multiple jolts into a brief 12-hour window without causing any reported injuries or structural damage.
All recorded events fell within the micro to minor categories on the Richter Scale, with magnitudes spanning from a low of 2.7 to a maximum of 3.8. Four of the tremors surpassed the 3.0 threshold, generating perceptible shaking that led some anxious residents in affected localities to temporarily evacuate their homes as a precautionary measure.
Epicentres for the entire cluster were pinpointed consistently 27 to 30 kilometres northwest of Upleta town, indicating a tightly localized source of activity. This pattern stands in contrast to Gujarat's more familiar seismic hotspot in the Kachchh region, making the Rajkot swarm particularly noteworthy and prompting closer scrutiny from seismologists.
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Experts at the Institute of Seismological Research in Gandhinagar reassured the public that quakes below magnitude 4 generally pose negligible threat to life or infrastructure. Nevertheless, they stressed the importance of detailed analysis to determine the factors triggering such a rapid succession of events in quick proximity.
While the impacted zone in Rajkot does not overlie any documented major fault lines, authorities noted that minor post-monsoon seismic clusters can occasionally emerge in stable regions. Ongoing monitoring remains in place to assess whether the activity has fully subsided or requires further precautionary advisories for local communities.
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