Just after 10 p.m. on Tuesday, a sudden jolt rippled through Uttarakhand’s Garhwal and Kumaon regions, catching residents off guard.
The National Centre for Seismology recorded the event at a magnitude of 4.9 on the Richter scale, locating the hypocentre in Chamoli district at roughly 13 km depth. The official time stamp reads 10:23:13 p.m. on 6 October.
The shaking was felt across a long list of towns, such as:
- Nainital
- Bageshwar
- Bhimtal
- Pithoragarh
- Champawat
- Haldwani
- Khatima
- Rudraprayag
- Rishikesh
- Gopeshwar
- Chamoli
- Badrinath
- Tharali
- Srinagar
- Pokhari
The tremor was not limited to Uttarakhand; several locations in the Delhi‑NCR region also reported feeling the movement.
Chamoli Confirmed as the Epicentre
A follow‑up analysis by the NCS reaffirmed Chamoli as the quake’s source, pinpointing coordinates at 30.103° N latitude and 79.561° E longitude. Despite the abrupt shaking, early field surveys have not identified any major structural damage or injuries.
Uttarakhand’s Persistent Seismic Risk
Situated along the seismically active Himalayan belt, Uttarakhand remains vulnerable to earthquakes, making resilient construction and comprehensive disaster‑preparedness essential.
The latest update to India’s seismic zoning map has placed Uttarakhand—and other Himalayan states—into a high‑sensitivity zone, urging stricter building norms and heightened readiness.
Tuesday’s 4.9‑magnitude tremor serves as a timely reminder of the region’s geological fragility, even though it passed without causing significant harm.
