Northern India and certain other parts of Asia are feeling the intense pressure of tectonic plates, recording the third instance of an earthquake in less than 72 hours. On Wednesday, a massive earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale rattled areas around the India-Myanmar border and its tremors were felt as far as the Indian capital of Delhi. Parts of north-eastern India, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and New Delhi shook, scaring the residents off their buildings. Two people have lost their lives and more than 70 have been injured in Assam so far.
#Earthquake aftermath: A Police outpost building in Imphal (Manipur) collapses after tremors were felt in the city. pic.twitter.com/yrHhQKKXBQ
— ANI (@ANI_news) April 13, 2016
According to the National Centre of Seismology (NCS), the earthquake occurred at 7:25pm. The USGS announced that the quake’s epicenter was 396 kilometers north of Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw. There were no immediate reports of major damage to property and life in Myanmar. The quake lasted for 8-10 seconds. There was at least one aftershock after the initial quake, according to witnesses.
Pagodas damaged, but no casualties in #MyanmarQuake https://t.co/DV7m71n9KU pic.twitter.com/SAAfOyfPVM
— TODAY (@TODAYonline) April 14, 2016
This was the second quake of the day in the northeast as a medium intensity temblor measuring 4.6 hit areas around Manipur capital Imphal at 9:26am. In Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR), people quickly rushed out of their homes. Delhi Metro is operating, but people are refusing to enter buildings or stations, preferring to wait outside in the open. People blew conch shells on some streets in Kolkata to sound alarm and alert residents of high-rises, some eyewitnesses were quoted as saying. “It took us a few seconds to realize what was happening, but the shake was pretty evident. So we rushed out immediately,” a resident of Kolkata said.
#Earthquake measuring 6.9 hits #Myanmar, north, east India: people rush out of homes pic.twitter.com/jOQrfZlkwY
— Perfect Foundation (@PerfectFdn) April 13, 2016
In West Bengal, the impact was more in the northern districts at 9:26am. Metro Railway service was stopped for five minutes immediately after the quake, Metro spokesperson Indrani Banerjee said. In the evening, tremors were felt in Patna, Begusarai, Vaishali, Kishangaj and other districts of Bihar, Patna MET director AK Sen said. In neighbouring Jharkhand, there were jolts in Ranchi, Dumka, Godda, Deoghar, Sahibganj and Jamshedpur, geologist Nitish Priyadarshi said.
On Sunday, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake shook parts of Pakistan and regions bordering Afghanistan and Tajikistan around 3.58 pm. Six deaths were reported. The impact was strongest across a 200 km area, according to data from European Mediterranean Seismological Centre. Tremors were felt across north India, including Delhi and NCR, Kashmir and Uttarakhand. The metro rail service in Delhi was halted following the quake as a precautionary measure. Radio Pakistan reported that strong tremors were felt across Peshawar, Chitral, Swat, Gilgit, Faisalabad and Lahore. Several parts in northern India, including Chandigarh and Kashmir felt the tremors that continued for at least 5 minutes, the initial tremor felt was at 4.01 pm.
Crazy scenes in Eden Gardens. All of us felt tremors in the Press box, evacuated and then returned. Earthquake?
— Karthik Lakshmanan (@lk_karthik) April 13, 2016
Tremors felt . Just evacuated building in #Kolkata
— Derek O’Brien (@quizderek) April 13, 2016
Something sad happened just now #Earthquake In #Kolkata !
everything will be ok
Pray to Almighty God and Be safe.— Rittika (@SenRittika) April 13, 2016
Major jolt felt here in #Kolkata for the #Myanmar earthquake. 7.1 on Richter scale
— Amrita Das (@DasAmrita1) April 13, 2016
#Earthquake: Crack in walls of #Kolkata metro station; Electricity and phone network hampered in #Assamhttps://t.co/ImsrZMfKSJ
— ABP News (@abpnewstv) April 13, 2016