By IANS,
Guwahati : A moderate earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale shook India’s northeast before dawn Friday, triggering panic among sleeping residents in the region that experienced the fourth tremor in the past three weeks, officials said.
An official at the regional seismological centre in Shillong, capital of Meghalaya, said the tremor took place at 1.21 a.m. Friday and had its epicentre along Manipur and Nagaland states, bordering Myanmar.
The quake shook houses and other structures in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura, besides being felt in Myanmar as well.
People ran out of their homes with the tremor lasting for about 10 seconds.
“There has been no immediate report of damage caused by the quake,” officials said.
This is the fourth tremor to have jolted the region so far this month – an earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale took place Monday, while another of 4.9 magnitude was experienced Aug 19, and a tremor of 5.6 intensity shook the region Aug 11.
The seven northeastern states – Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur – considered by seismologists as the sixth major earthquake prone belt in the world. The region experienced one of the worst earthquakes, measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale, in 1897 that claimed lives of more than 1,600 people.