Sunday 19 / May / 2024
Yangon/New Delhi: An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale hit Myanmar, sending strong tremors through Myanmar, eastern India, Bangladesh and parts of Nepal.
Tremors shook the northeast India, several parts of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and even Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR).
There were no immediate reports of major damage or loss of life as a result of the tremor, located around 100km (62 miles) north-northwest of the city of Monywa at an estimated depth of 134 km.
But around 50 people suffered mainly leg injuries in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka and northeastern city of Sylhet as they fled homes and other buildings during the quake, according to police.
Witnesses in Bagan, central Myanmar, said some tourists left their hotel rooms and stood outside when they felt the tremor. They saw no sign of damage to buildings, however.
"We haven't heard any reports of casualties or damage," said an official from Myanmar's meteorological department based in the capital Naypyitaw. "So far as I know the epicentre wasn't in a densely populated area."
Electricity was cut off in parts of northeastern India as thermal power stations were shut down as a precautionary measure.
"I felt the tremor three times. I saw people rushing out," said Rupak De Chowdhuri, a Reuters photographer in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata.
Britain's Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who were visiting the northeastern Indian state of Assam on Wednesday, were safe, the British High Commission in New Delhi said.
Tremors were also felt in eastern Nepal.
"We felt the quake. But it was not so strong to make us flee our homes," said Dinesh Rai, a resident of Nepal's eastern state of Jhapa.
Jolts were also felt in Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, said J. L.Gautam, Operations Head at the National Centre for Seismology.
The US Geological Service said the epicentre of the earthquake measured 6.9 on the Richter scale and was 74km South East of Mawlaik in Myanmar.
"The epicentre is in Myanmar, some 100km off the India-Myanmar border. Since the quake occurred at a depth of 134km, the impact could be felt at a large distance," Gautam said.
This is the second quake on Wednesday in the northeast as a medium intensity temblor measuring 4.6 hit areas around Manipur capital Imphal at 9:26am.
In West Bengal, the impact was more in the northern districts.
Metro Railway service was stopped for five minutes immediately after the quake, Metro spokesperson Indrani Banerjee said.
Tremors were felt in Patna, Begusarai, Vaishali, Kishangaj and other districts of Bihar, Patna MET director A. K. Sen said.
In neighbouring Jharkhand, there were jolts in Ranchi, Dumka, Godda, Deoghar, Sahibganj and Jamshedpur, geologist Nitish Priyadarshi said.
Officials at the Regional Seismological Centre in Shillong said the quake was located at latitude 23 degree north and longitude 94.9 degree east.
In Guwahati, some people reported cracks in buildings while there was power outage for some time in Shillong.
Tremors were also felt in the northeastern states of Mizoram and Nagaland.
All the northeastern states are categorised under zone V in the country's seismological map and are considered highly vulnerable.
