Earthquake Hits Northeast India [Breaking]


An earthquake measuring 6.7 magnitude hit northeast India near its border with Myanmar and Bangladesh Monday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) confirmed.

A recent update by Accuweather reports there have been at least four fatalities and more than 100 injured due to falling debris.

According to USA Today, the earthquake hit at approximately 4:35 a.m. local time (6:05 p.m. ET on Sunday), about 20 miles west-northwest of Imphal, India, the capital of Manipur state.

The USGS website also displayed user-submitted reports of moderate-to-strong ground shaking from many locations in the far eastern part of India as well as parts of Bangladesh. Lighter ground shaking was reported over a wide region just 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) away from the epicenter. According to The Weather Channel, the shaking also affected parts of Myanmar, Bhutan, and Nepal.

Residents lost power while others were awakened by shouting relatives and an intense shaking that lasted from 35 seconds to two minutes. At this time it was still dark outside, and the extent of damage remained unclear, NBC News reports.

“The ground swayed for almost a minute, jolting people awake in their homes,” resident Apem Arthur told the Associated Press. “The area is dotted with small houses. There are few tall buildings in the region,” she said.

Approximately 200 miles south of the quake’s epicenter, in Siaha, India, one witness described a building that sounded as if it was crumbling; 100 miles west, in Fenchuganj, Bangladesh, another witness recalled everything in the room was shaking – the bed, doors, and windows.

Imphal officials said the tremor left large cracks in the walls of a popular market causing a portion of the building to collapse.

“It was the biggest earthquake we have felt in Imphal,” disaster response worker Kanarjit Kangujam told Reuters, via telephone from Imphal.

According to India’s Meteorological Department, the epicenter of the quake was in Tamenglong region of Manipur state. The earthquake struck at a depth of 17 kilometers (about 10 miles) in the India-Manipur border region. USGS reports the depth was 55 kilometers (about 34 miles).

Residents of Gauhati, the capital of neighboring Assam state, panicked and rushed out of their homes as they felt massive shaking at least twice within a 60-second period, reported the Associated Press.

Residents in Imphal said furniture and book shelves were knocked over during the earthquake. Tremors were also felt in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state, USA Today reports.

Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharama voiced his account of the quake, via Twitter.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took to social media, tweeting that he had spoken to Home Minister Rajnath Singh “who is in Assam, on the situation arising due to the earthquake and asked him to oversee the situation.”

Residents have been told to anticipate aftershocks over the next several days, although they will most likely be of a lesser magnitude than the quake that struck early Monday morning.

According to Accuweather, these smaller earthquakes may cause more damage to structures that were weakened by the 6.7 magnitude earthquake.

This is a developing story. Check back here on the Inquisitr for updates.

[Photo from US Geological Survey]

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