SHILLONG, April 28: An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale rattled the North East region including Meghalaya. Over ten aftershocks of varying intensities were recorded throughout the day.
While the tremors caused extensive damages to properties in Guwahati and several other towns in Assam, no such report was received from anywhere in the state.
“The earthquake occurred in Sonitpur, Assam with epicentre at 26.690 Degree N and 92.360 Degree E, with a focal depth of 17 km at 07:51:25 IST,” informed Director, Central Seismological Observatory, Shillong, AC Lyngdoh on Wednesday.
He also informed that the earthquake was felt in the entire Northeastern region of India and some parts of Bihar, West Bengal and Bangladesh.
“More than 70 felt reports due to this earthquake, have been received having intensity ranging from I to V on the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) Scale,” Lyngdoh added.
He also informed that a total of eight aftershocks of magnitude ranging from 3.2 to 4.7 scale were detected within two hours. By late evening the number of aftershocks increased to over ten. The National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said that damage to buildings and structures was reported from areas within 100 km radius of the epicentre.
There were no immediate reports of deaths directly due to the tremors, but two persons — one each in Kamrup Metropolitan and Nagaon — died due to shock and heart attack around the time of the earthquake, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said.
According to initial reports, 10 people suffered injuries in four districts as the first quake of 6.4 magnitude struck Tezpur, the headquarters of Sonitpur district, at 7.51 am, the ASDMA said in a statement.
According to a report issued by the National Centre for Seismology (Ministry of Earth Sciences), New Delhi the epicentre is closer to the plate boundary and located at about 80 km North-East of Guwahati; 132 km North of Shillong and 180 km West of Jorhat.
Preliminary analysis of the report shows that the events are located near to Kopili Fault closer to Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT). The area is seismically very active falling in the highest Seismic Hazard zone V associated with collisional tectonics where the Indian plate subducts beneath the Eurasian Plate.
The report also stated that historical and instrumentally recorded earthquake data (NCS catalogue) reveals that the region is affected by moderate to large earthquakes and the most prominent events among those was the July 29, 1960 Assam earthquake of Magnitude 6.0.
