Guwahati: An earthquake hit Assam’s Morigaon district early Thursday morning, jolting the region and nearby areas. The quake, measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale, occurred at 2:25 am, according to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS).
The earthquake’s epicentre was in Morigaon, with tremors felt in Guwahati and other parts of the state. The quake occurred at a depth of 16 kilometres, and its impact was felt in several districts.
Morigaon district resident Ratul Hoque told TOI, “When the earthquake occurred, we walked away from home to a safe and open place. People here were frightened and ran out of their homes.”
Guwahati resident Dimpi Saikia said, “When the quake hit, we were asleep. We experienced the jolt and quickly moved out of our house and stood on the road till it was over. But we also feared a post-quake, sometimes another quake occurs after the first one stops. However, most of the areas of the city have fewer open places, which poses a threat to the people, especially during an earthquake. Imagine a quake of a high Richter scale, what would happen to most of the places of the city?”
While the earthquake caused momentary panic, no immediate reports of damage or casualties have surfaced. However, in the past week, Assam experienced two minor earthquakes. On Feb 21, a quake measuring 2.6 on the Richter scale was reported, with Nalbari as the epicentre and on Feb 15, a quake measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale was recorded, with Karbi Anglong as the epicentre.
