Four tremors rock Digana for sixth time in three months

COLOMBO (News 1st): Four tremors had been recorded in the Digana area in Kandy on Saturday for the sixth time in three months, officials confirmed. The first tremor with a magnitude of 2.0 had been felt at around 5:41 am and had been recorded at two seismic centres, the Geological Survey & Mines Bureau (GSMB) said. Residents of the Aluthwatta and Ambakotte villages said they had experienced the tremor, an occurrence that has plunged their lives into fear, causing many sleepless nights. "We have kids. We sleep in fear," a resident complained. Geological experts said the tremors are likely to have occurred due to rock bursts inside a limestone quarry or the victoria dam that is located in the area. "The recurrence of tremors means there is a change taking place in the tectonic plates. This should not be neglected," Professor Athula Senaratne, a senior geology lecturer told News1st. The Digana area first experienced a tremor with a magnitude of more than 3.5 on August 29. All tremors occurred since then had been recorded on seismic sensors around the Victoria dam. Subsequent tremors had been recorded with a magnitude less than 2.0 on September 2 and 11, between 2.5 and 3.5 on November 18, and 1.52 on November 29. GMSB officials have observed that the tremors had been recorded further away from the boundary of an active tectonic plate and had been free of large scale seismic activities. A committee that studied the recent incidents cited dolomite quarrying, use of detonators for construction, tectonic behaviour, rock bursts, and rapid water level changes in the Victoria reservoir as possible reasons for the tremors.