As many as 15 aftershocks were experienced in Gujarat’s Kutch district, some of them of more than 4 magnitude, a day after an earthquake of 5.3 intensity hit the area, officials said on Monday.

No casualty or damage to property was reported though some houses developed cracks, they said.

On Sunday night, an earthquake of 5.3 magnitude was recorded with its epicentre 10km North-North East (NNE) of Bhachau in Kutch, the site of a devastating quake in 2001.

After that, 15 aftershocks rattled the area throughout Sunday night and Monday, including one with 4.6 magnitude that was recorded at 12.57 pm on Monday with its epicentre 15 km NNE of Bhachau, a scientist from the Gandhinagar-based Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) said.

Scientist Santosh Kumar of ISR said these were aftershocks of Sunday night’s 5.3 magnitude earthquake, and further study was underway related to them.

Apart from the earthquake of 4.6 magnitude, an aftershock of 4.1 magnitude was recorded at 3:56 pm, an another of 3.6 magnitude at 1:01 pm, with their epicentres six and 11 kms NNE of Bhachau, respectively, the official said.

Aftershocks of various magnitudes, ranging from 1.4 to 3.1, were recorded so far in the area, the official said.

Kutch collector Praveena DK said there has been no report of casualty or damage to property though a few houses near the epicentre developing cracks.

“There is absolutely no damage apart from a few houses reporting cracks, and that too in the villages where the epicentre was located,” she said.

Sunday night’s 5.3 magnitude earthquake was felt in several parts of Saurashtra and north Gujarat districts, especially in Rajkot and Patan where people rushed out of their houses in large numbers.

People said the quake briefly reminded them of the devastating Kutch earthquake of 7.7 magnitude that had rocked the state on January 26, 2001, causing massive loss of life and property.

Kutch district is located in a “very high risk” seismic zone, and earthquakes of lower intensity occur regularly there.

As per the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority, the 2001 earthquake was the third largest and second most destructive in India over the last two centuries as around 20,000 people had died.