For the second time in 24 hours, mild tremors were felt in some parts of Odisha, including the twin city of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, early Sunday afternoon. There were no reports of any damage caused by the mild quake from any part of the State. The tremors which hit at 12.49 pm lasted barely a few seconds. But that was enough for the people, especially those living in multistoried apartments, to press the panic button and rush out.
Apprehensive about a second round in the day, panicky people who had rushed out of their homes refused to go in even half an after the tremors were felt. It may be noted that mild tremors had shaken most parts of the State first at 11.41 am and again at 12.15 pm on Saturday. “The epicentre of the quake was identified at Kodari, 80 km from Kathmandu in Nepal. Though the exact magnitude has not been estimated yet, its intensity is believed to be of 6.9 in Richter scale,” said Director, Regional Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, Dr Sarat Sahu. The epicentre of the earthquake was 810 km from Bhubaneswar in the direction of North, he said. Sahu, however, said the aftershock would continue under the impact of the major earthquake that rocked Nepal on Saturday.