- Saturday, April 27, 2024
By: Pramod Thomas
AN earthquake of magnitude 6 struck India’s rugged northeastern state of Assam on Wednesday (28), causing cracks in the walls and floors of some structures, but no immediate casualties were reported.
Residents saying the main human toll was stress, minor cuts and bruises, reported AFP.
The quake hit at a depth of 34 km (21 miles) near the town of Dhekiajuli, 140 km (86 miles) north of the main city of Guwahati, the US Geological Survey said.
Both the main tremor and aftershocks were felt hundreds of kilometres away in the northern state of Bengal, as well as in Bhutan and Bangladesh.
The quake badly shook Tezpur, a city of 100,000 people, about 45 kilometres (28 miles) from the epicentre.
“This earthquake was the biggest I can remember, there was first a big jolt and then a smaller one,” said a police official in the town. “We did not receive any distress calls, but people did run out of their homes.”
People streamed into the streets for fear of fresh tremors, with some saying the quake left cracks in their homes.
“Our entire multi-storied apartment has witnessed massive damage with roofs and walls caving in,” said Subham Hazarika, a businessman living in an upmarket apartment in Guwahati. “Luckily no one got injured.”
“We don’t have reports of any casualties but we are seeing images and visuals of extensive damage,” Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told Reuters.
Modi assures help
In Assam’s main city, Guwahati, about 150 kilometres (95 miles) to the south, the quake shook buildings and chunks of concrete fell off the side of buildings that were cracked.
Residents said at least two big aftershocks were felt. In Nagaon, one apartment block tilted onto an adjacent building.
Prime minister Narendra Modi said he had spoken with state authorities and promised assistance from the central government.
“I pray for the well-being of the people of Assam,” Modi said on Twitter.
According to the USGS, the quake’s relatively shallow depth of 34 kilometres (21 miles) had increased the risk of severe damage.
It said the main tremor struck at 0221 GMT in hills just north of Dhekiajuli, a town in a tea-growing district of northern Assam.
A second one with a magnitude of 4.0 hit 10 minutes later and others followed.
The Himalayan region is notorious for big earthquakes that hit each year.
A 1950 quake killed about 4,800 people in Assam and Tibet.
The Great Assam Earthquake of 1897 is said to be one of the most powerful to have hit India, leaving hundreds dead in the remote hills.
