MULUGU: Residents of the Mulugu Agency area were gripped with fear and fled their homes after experiencing an earthquake on Wednesday. The locals, unfamiliar with such incidents, initially did not understand what was happening but soon realised the tremors were caused by an earthquake in the Eturunagaram and Tadvai mandals in the morning.
According to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS), an earthquake of magnitude 5.3 on the Richter scale struck Mulugu district. A post on X (formerly Twitter) by the NCS stated that the earthquake occurred at a depth of 40 km and was recorded at 7.27 am IST on December 4 at latitude 18.44°N in Mulugu, Telangana.
District officials from Warangal, Hanamkonda, Mahabubabad and Mulugu confirmed that no reports of property damage or loss of life had been received.
Speaking to the media, Mulugu Collector Divakara TS stated, “The earthquake occurred around 7.30 am and lasted for 6 to 8 seconds. Fortunately, there has been no damage to property or loss of life in the district. We have alerted gram panchayat secretaries, MPDOs and revenue staff to assess any damage within their jurisdictions. Additionally, officials have been directed to identify any dilapidated houses or properties and submit a detailed report.”
Residents of Tadvai mandal recalled a squall-like incident in September earlier this year that had caused significant damage to trees over 200 hectares of forest land. Within two months, the occurrence of the earthquake heightened panic in the Agency area.
During the tremors, belongings in homes fell to the ground, forcing terrified residents to rush out of their houses. Villagers in Roheer and Shankarajpally, particularly, waited outside their homes on the streets until 9 am, fearing aftershocks. In Roheer of Eturunagaram mandal, a portion of a house’s compound wall collapsed.
Local revenue and forest officials visited affected areas, including Roheer village, to assure residents that the earthquake was mild and posed no further threat. After hours of convincing, villagers eventually returned to their homes.
Recounting his experience, M Sampath, a resident of Tadvai mandal, said: “We were unaware of the earthquake at first. Suddenly, the vessels in our house started shaking, and a few fell to the ground. We rushed outside to save our lives. Our neighbours also stepped out, and we realised it was an earthquake after seeing updates on social media.”