Disasters & Accidents

6.4-magnitude earthquake hits northeastern India

New Delhi, Apr 28 (EFE).- A magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit the state of Assam in northeastern India on Wednesday, causing some material damage, although no casualties have been reported so far.

The tremor occurred around 7.51 am (2.25 GMT) in the Sonitpur district of Assam, at a depth of about 17 kilometers (10.5 miles), according to the National Center for Seismology (NCS).

NCS further reported the detection of six subsequent aftershocks measuring between 4.7 and 3.2 degrees on the open ended Richter Scale.

“Parts of the State (of Assam) struck by an earthquake of significant scale. Luckily no loss of life reported so far. Only damage to some buildings,” tweeted Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region, Jitendra Singh.

The earthquake was also felt in other regions of India such as the states of Bengal (west) and Arunachal Pradesh (northeast).

Although social networks were filled with images of cracks in walls and displaced objects, no significant damage has been reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a statement that he had spoken to the authorities in Assam and that all possible aid would be sent to the region.

In 2016, a 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck northeastern India, in which at least 13 people were killed and some 230 others injured.

This has been the latest in a series of earthquakes in South Asia in recent years, including one of magnitude 7.8 in Nepal in 2015 that killed nearly 9,000 people, and another of magnitude 7.5 in Afghanistan and Pakistan that caused some 400 deaths the same year. EFE

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