Several schools and hospitals in the districts of Doda and Kishtwar in India's Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory have been closed for safety assessments after five mild tremors rocked the region and caused major damage to buildings.
The district magistrate of Doda, Vishesh Mahajan, told Indian media that schools in Thathri, Gandoh, and Bhadarwah have been closed as a precautionary measure as these zones fall in areas which are prone to risk.
According to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS), an earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale hit Jammu and Kashmir's Doda and Kishtwar districts on Tuesday, causing injuries to five people, including two schoolchildren, and damage to several buildings.
It came in the wake of several tremors on Wednesday of magnitude 3.3, 3.4, 4.3, and 2.8 in Jammu & Kashmir.
Over the past five years, NCS data analysis has revealed that the majority of earthquakes were observed in the nearby Doda region, which could be the result of seismic activity.
Former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Ghulam Nabi Azad told Indian media on Tuesday that it's better that students be taught in the schoolground and that serious patients in multi-storey hospitals be kept where there is minimal impact from an earthquake.