The National Centre for Seismology recorded a magnitude 6.4 earthquake in North East India on Wednesday. Strong tremors were also felt in parts of northeast and north Bengal. Sonitpur, at a depth of 17 kilometres, was the quake’s epicentre, according to the study. Assam was hit by powerful earthquake tremors early this morning, causing damage to many houses and buildings.
The quake damaged the wall and false ceiling areas of Guwahati’s opulent Taj Vivanta. The quake had a magnitude of 6.0, and had its epicentre during a hilly area near India’s border with Bhutan. However, hundreds of kilometres away in the northern state of Bengal, the tremor and aftershocks were felt.
The earthquake’s epicentre was within the Sonitpur district, and it had been amid two aftershocks of magnitude 4 and 3.1, respectively. The quake occurred at 7.51 a.m. at a depth of 17 kilometres. Tremors were felt in the northeast, including neighbouring Meghalaya. The aftershocks were felt in parts of West Bengal as well.
“A large earthquake strikes Assam. I pray for everyone’s safety and remind everyone to remain vigilant. Sarbananda Sonowal, the chief minister of Assam, tweeted, “Taking reports from all districts.” The epicentre, according to senior minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, was in Dhekiajuli town in Sonitpur. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to say that he spoke with Sonowal and assured him of the Centre’s full support. The Centre has assured you that it will assist you in every way it can, he tweeted.
The quake shook Tezpur, a 100,000-person city about 45 kilometres (28 miles) from the epicentre. According to residents, a large number of people poured into the streets, and some buildings were destroyed. The quake struck at a relatively shallow depth of 29 kilometres (18 miles) at 0221 GMT in hills just north of Dhekiajuli, a town in northern Assam’s tea-growing district to the USGS. Large earthquakes strike the Himalayan region regularly. A quake in Assam and Tibet in 1950 killed approximately 4,800 people.
The earthquake was accompanied by two aftershocks of 4.3 and 4.4 magnitudes at 7.58 and 8.01 a.m. Many buildings in Tezpur, Sonitpur’s district headquarters, Guwahati, and a few other places were damaged. The Assam Health Minister tweeted images of building damage in Guwahati. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assessed the situation and promised assistance.
On April 5, another earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 on the Richter scale struck near Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim. There were no injuries recorded at the time as well. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said that he had spoken with the Assam chief minister and that he was praying for the state’s people’s well-being.
Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, said he spoke with Sonowal to assess things in various parts of the state following the earthquake. Licypriya Kangujam, a climate activist, tweeted that she hoped everyone was safe and posted pictures of the damage to a five-star hotel.
