Pune: An earthquake of moderate intensity
measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale rattled many parts of
Western Maharashtra this evening, officials said.
The tremor, with its epicentre in neighbouring Satara
district, occurred at 6.34 pm and lasted for 15 seconds,
according to U V Siddhamal, Chief Executive Engineer of the
Koyna dam which has an installed seismograph.
While there were no reports of damage to life and
property, some houses in Patan in the district developed
cracks due to the shock, they said.
Epicentre of the quake was believed to be near
Varanavati, about 20 km from the Koyna dam which has a hydel
power station supplying electricity to Maharashtra.
People ran out of their houses in Satara in darkness as
electricity supply was off due to evening hour loadshedding.
The quake was felt in Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Mumbai,
Pune and Ratnagiri, officials said.
Bureau Report
