Three Earthquakes Jolt Meghalaya, Manipur, Assam; No Casualties Recorded

Three earthquakes hit the northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur in the early hours of Friday, June 18, said the National Centre for Seismology.

While Sonitpur in Assam was jolted by a 4.1 magnitude at around 2 am, Chandel in Manipur experienced an earthquake of 3 magnitude at 1.06 am and the West Khasi Hills in Meghalaya was jolted by a 2.6 magnitude earthquake, reported The Hindu. There were no reports of any loss of life.

No Casualties Reported

This is the second earthquake to hit Sonitpur district's Tezpur town in three days. On Tuesday, June 15, Tezpur recorded an earthquake of magnitude 3.0. It occurred around 10.53pm at a depth of 10 kilometres and the epicentre was located 60 km west of Tezpur. A strong 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Assam on April 28. There were multiple aftershocks. Two people died of shock and there was some damage to structures.

Why Are Earthquakes So Frequent In The Northeast?

The northeastern region of the country is one of the most seismologically active zone. It is categorised under seismic zone 5. This essentially means that the entire region is extremely prone to high-intensity earthquakes. The worst recorded earthquake was the Assam-Tibet earthquake in 1950 which measured 8.6 magnitude on the Richter scale. About 4,800 people were estimated to have died.

Also Read: Report Says Indian IT Firms To Slash 3 Million Jobs, Nasscom Responds