An earthquake of a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter Scale hit Sonitpur, Assam, at 7:51 am on Wednesday, 28 April, the National Center for Seismology said. The epicentre of the quake was 43 km west of Tezpur, the agency said.
Strong tremors were felt across the state.
While no casualties were reported, several buildings reported significant damage. Officials said that two more earthquakes hit the state back-to-back following the first, with the strongest being of 6.4 magnitude.
According to PTI, the tremors were also felt in Meghalaya as well as Bengal. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that strong tremors repeatedly struck other northeastern areas as well as parts of Bhutan.
Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told Reuters that there was no report of any casualty, but there was extensive damage.
Ministers Take Stock
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that he was praying for the well-being of the people and urged everyone to stay alert.
He added that PM Narendra Modi had taken stock of the situation and had assured all the support to the state.
Home Minister Amit Shah has also assessed the situation. “The central government stands firmly with our sisters and brothers of Assam. Praying for everyone’s safety and well-being,” he wrote on Twitter.
Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took to Twitter to say that the state has experienced a massive earthquake and also tweeted some photos of damage caused by the quake in Guwahati.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh said he had spoken to CM Sonowal and that no loss of life had been reported so far in the state. However, that several buildings had been reported to have suffered damaged.
(With inputs from PTI and Reuters.)
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