Hyderabad/New Delhi: An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale hit Myanmar, tremors of which shook the northeast, several parts of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and even Delhi and NCR. Jolts were also felt in Odisha, UP, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, said J.L. Gautam, Operations Head at the National Centre for Seismology.
Tremors were felt in Andhra Pradesh also. In Hyderabad, NGRI chief scientist Dr D. Srinagesh said, “reports of tremors in Chennai and Vizag are not surprising as the waves travel far. They could have felt the impact.”
There was no immediate report of any casualty or major damage. The earthquake occurred around 7:25 pm. The US Geological Service said the epicenter of the earthquake measured 6.9 on the Richter scale and was 74 km South East of Mawlaik in Myanmar. “The epicenter is in Myanmar, some 100 km off the India-Myanmar border. Since the quake occurred at a depth of 134 km, the impact could be felt at a large distance,” Gautam said. This is the second quake in the day in the northeast as a medium intensity temblor measuring 4.6 hit areas around Manipur capital Imphal at 9:26 am.
In West Bengal, the impact was more in the northern districts. Metro Railway service was stopped for five minutes immediately after the quake, Metro spokesperson Indrani Banerjee said. Tremors were felt in Patna, Begusarai, Vaishali, Kish-angaj and other districts of Bihar, Patna MET director A K Sen said.
