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6.1 magnitude earthquake hits Myanmar-India border area

US Geological Survey’s website shows the epicentre of the earthquake (Screengrab/USGeological Survey)
US Geological Survey’s website shows the epicentre of the earthquake (Screengrab/USGeological Survey)

An earthquake struck the border region between Myanmar and India on Friday, with tremors being felt in neighbouring Bangladesh.

According to India’s National Centre for Seismology, the 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck in the early morning hours on Friday, at around 5.15am IST at a depth of 12km and about 140km from Aizawl in northeastern India.

There were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties.

No landslides or liquefaction were expected in the area either, according to US Geological Survey but it noted that damage could have “occurred in highly susceptible areas.”

According to testimonies posted by the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) on its website and on social media sites, people felt the tremors in three countries. Several people reported it was a “long shake” for about 30 seconds in most parts of India’s eastern cities of Kolkata and Guwahati.

The tremors were felt in several eastern states of India like West Bengal, Tripura, and Assam, as well as a few territories in Bangladesh including the coastal city of Chittagong 174km away from the quake.

“I was waking up from the bed the bed started to shake and after few seconds later doors were shaking, ceiling fans shaking too and neighbours ran outside from a three stories building,” according to one witness account posted on the centre’s website from Bangladesh.

Twitter user Saizul Amin wrote: “Felt massive #earthquake tremors here in Bangladesh.”

“That was the longest one yet. Let’s just say that we all woke up to an incredible alarm clock this morning,” another witness in Hnahthial, India, wrote on ESMC.

EMSC later reduced the temblor’s magnitude at 5.8 and said the epicentre was about 126km southeast of Aizawl in northeastern India.

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