Mild quake rocks Manipur, no damage or casualties reported

Imphal, Jan 2 (IANS) A mild intensity earthquake, measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale, jolted southern Manipur's Churachandpur district on Thursday afternoon, officials said.

According to a Disaster Management Official, the quake was felt in hilly Churachandpur district and adjoining areas on Thursday afternoon.

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.

Thursday's tremor occurred in Manipur after two successive quakes in Assam (on December 22) and Arunachal Pradesh (on December 23) measuring 3.5 and 3.7 on the Richter scale, respectively,

As per the NCS data, between October 28 and November 30, eleven quakes hit several northeastern states – Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, and Sikkim – in 34 days.

According to NCS data, 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, and Manipur, have kept the authorities worried, forcing public and private builders to build quake-proof structures.

Seismologists consider the mountainous northeastern region as the sixth most earthquake-prone belt in the world.

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 over 200 people in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. In 2011, an earthquake of magnitude 6.9 shook Sikkim and parts of West Bengal killing over 100 people. Another quake in 2017, with a magnitude 5.7, struck 20 km northeast of Ambassa in Tripura’s Dhalai district.

Management authorities are regularly conducting awareness campaigns about the frequent quakes in the northeastern states.

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