Earthquakes strike Northeast, West Bengal; PM assures assistance

Guwahati/Kolkata/Imphal/Itanagar | An earthquake of 5.8 magnitude struck parts of the Northeast and adjoining West Bengal on Sunday evening, followed by three aftershocks within one-and-a-half hours, leaving at least two people injured and damaging scores of houses in Assam.

The first jolt of 5.8 magnitude was recorded at 4.41 pm, the second tremor of 3.1 magnitude was felt at 4.58 pm, followed by another tremor of 2.9 magnitude at 5.21 pm. The fourth jolt was of 2.7 magnitude and recorded at 6.11 pm, they said.

The epicentre of the third quake was Sonitpur in Assam, while the remaining three struck neighbouring Udalguri district, they added.

The Assam State Disaster Management (ASDMA) said two girls were injured in Udalguri due to the collapse of the ceiling of a hostel, and several houses were damaged in different parts of the state.

The roof of a house collapsed in the Amguri area of the district. Two houses and a store were partially damaged in Sonitpur, while minor wall cracks appeared on a few houses in Biswanath district, it said.

Several houses were also damaged in Darrang and Nalbari districts. In the Hojai district, cracks developed on a building, it said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who wound up a two-day trip to the region and reached Kolkata in the evening, spoke to Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and enquired about the earthquake.

He assured all support from the Centre.

Sarma said the situation was under control and disaster management teams were on the ground, assessing the extent of the damage caused by the quakes.

The Assam government established helplines at 1079, 1070, 9401044617, and 1077 for the public.

People of the western parts of Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh also felt the jolts.

In Arunachal Pradesh's capital, Itanagar, people ran out of their houses and shops in panic.

State Disaster Management Secretary Dani Sulu said no reports of structural damage or casualties have been received so far.

"The situation is being closely monitored, but there is no cause for alarm," he said.

The Northeast is in a high seismic zone, and earthquakes frequently hit the region.

Tremors were also experienced in parts of northern West Bengal, adjacent to Assam.

"I could feel the earth shaking for a few seconds. I rushed out of my house as a precaution," said Bikash Dey, a Siliguri resident.

Some people also blew conch shells, a superstition believed to mitigate the impacts of a quake.

There was no report of any fatality or damage to structures due to the earthquake in any part of the state, an official said.