Aizawl: A mild quake measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale, jolted western Mizoram’s mountainous Mamit district and adjoining areas on Sunday, officials said.
According to a Disaster Management official of the Mizoram government, the quake shook the hilly Mamit district, which shares a border with Bangladesh and Tripura.
The official said that there has been no immediate report of loss of life or damage to property.
According to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) data, the tremor struck at a depth of 10 km from the surface.
Sunday’s tremor is the second earthquake in the mountainous northeastern region within four days.
On February 27, a moderate earthquake of magnitude five on the Richter scale jolted Assam’s Morigaon district.
The tremors were also felt in Guwahati and other parts of the state.
Earthquakes are quite common in the northeastern region, comprising eight states, since the region falls in sixth most earthquake- prone region.
According to NCS statistics, more than one quake every week hit a northeastern state with most tremors measuring 3 to 4 on the Richter scale.
Successive earthquakes, mostly mild to moderate, in the mountainous northeastern states, especially in Assam, Mizoram, Manipur and Meghalaya, have kept the authorities worried, forcing public and private builders to build quake-proof structures.
In 1950, an earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale altered the course of the mighty Brahmaputra river, which passes by the congested Guwahati city, the northeastern region’s main commercial hub.
Another earthquake of magnitude 6.5 on the Richter scale hit northeastern India in 1988, killing more than 200 people in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
In 2011, an earthquake of magnitude 6.9 shook Sikkim and parts of West Bengal killing more than 100 people.
Another quake in 2017, with a magnitude of 5.7, struck 20 km northeast of Ambassa in Tripura’s Dhalai district.
Disaster Management authorities are regularly conducting awareness campaigns about the frequent quakes in the northeastern states.
(IANS)
