Earthquake strikes Manipur at dawn, depth limits damage

Damaged buildings in Imphal, (below) Assam Rifles personnel carry out rescue 
operations in Dewlahland in Imphal West on Monday. Pic:AFP and UB Photos

Khelen Thokchom, TT, Imphal, Jan. 4: Six persons, including a minor, were killed and over 70 wounded in a devastating earthquake that rocked Manipur at 4.35 this morning. 

The earthquake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, had its epicentre at Noney in Tamenglong district, located at 24.93 degrees North and 93.55 degrees East, 40km from here.

The worst impact was felt in the twin districts of Imphal, East and West, where five of the deaths occurred and many buildings, including government ones, either collapsed or developed cracks. The sixth death was reported from Sadar Hills area of Senapati district. "We confirm the death of six persons and injury of more than 70 in wall collapse or while fleeing homes or buildings. More than 160 buildings were damaged," chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh said after a cabinet meeting to review the situation. He also visited those admitted in hospitals in and around Imphal city.

The government announced the closure of all educational institutions in the state for a week, beginning today, to ensure students' safety. Government offices, barring emergency services, have also been shut down for two days from tomorrow in case there are more aftershocks.

Union home minister Kiren Rijiju and DoNER minister Jitendra Singh rushed to Imphal and met Ibobi Singh to get a first-hand account of casualties and damage.

Manipur's deputy chief minister Gaikhangam, who holds the home portfolio, said: "We have asked the deputy commissioners of all the nine districts to assess the exact position of the damage. We are planning to set up relief camps for those rendered homeless."

The state government announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each for the deceased and also promised financial assistance to those injured. The amount will be fixed depending upon the seriousness of the injuries.

A 65-member National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team arrived here today. One of the teams, along with a team of Geological Survey of India, will visit Noney tomorrow to survey the area.

Damage

In Imphal, the quake damaged two of the three women's market complexes and the BSNL building. The Minuthong bridge that connects East and West Imphal districts developed cracks, blocking traffic for a few hours. There were also reports of cracks in market places in other districts.

Gaikhangam said four persons were injured at Noney, the epicentre, when their houses collapsed. They have been admitted to a public health centre and are said to be out of danger. "Fortunately, there was not much damage in Tamenglong district. Given the scale of the tremor, the number of casualties and the extent of damage was much less that what we had initially feared," he said.

Ranjit Duarah, scientist in the geoscience division of the North East Institute of Science and Technology, Jorhat, said nearly 11 aftershocks of lesser intensity followed the earthquake. "The damage was much less because of the depth, about 40km below the earth's surface, at which there could be said to be a fault dislocation because of stress. Had it occurred at a depth of 18-20km, such a high-intensity quake would have resulted in more damage. Another factor to be taken into account is the type of rock - soft or hard - on which the constructions are made," he said.

Protests

Women vendors of Imphal city staged a protest, alleging that the two market buildings had developed cracks because of substandard construction. They stopped trading in protest as well as in fear that the buildings might collapse. Ibobi Singh assured a delegation of vendors that he would look into the matter and order a survey to decide whether the buildings were still safe.

When the tremor struck, the market complexes of Imphal city had already opened and some buyers had turned up. "I was bargaining over a kilo of cabbage when I felt the tremor. I sat down and saw people running here and there in panic. It was really scary," M. Ratan Singh said.

The officer-in-charge of Imphal city police station, Sudhirkumar Singh, said he was standing under the Bir Tikendrajit flyover near the vegetable vendors when he first felt the tremor. "I tried to calm the terror-stricken vendors and shoppers. However, there was complete chaos at that time," the officer said.

Police had a tough time regulating the traffic with many people turning up to see the cracked market buildings later in the day.

An AN32 and an Avro aircraft of the IAF flew NDRF personnel from Guwahati to Imphal and Silchar within hours of the quake. The Eastern Air Command was tasked by IAF headquarters to airlift the NDRF team from Guwahati. The Avro transported 14 NDRF personnel and the AN32 49 personnel to Imphal. Later, the AN32 undertook another sortie from Guwahati to take a team of 33 NDRF personnel to Silchar, Captain Amit Mahajan, spokesperson for Shillong-based Eastern Air Command, said.

NF Railway said 56 passenger and goods trains were controlled at several stations. A statement said its engineering department inspected tracks, bridges and other vital installations.

Regional impact

The tremors affected other states in the region too. In Assam, it injured around 30 people and affected 40 buildings, mostly in Guwahati. People were also jolted out of sleep in Tripura. Superintendent of police (operations) Uttam Bhowmik said a mud hut was damaged in southwest Agartala while at least five buildings had developed cracks in south Agartala. No death or injury has been reported so far.

The tremors also saw many rushing out of their homes and hotels in the Meghalaya capital, Shillong, and other parts of the state. One of the biggest hospitals in the region - the super-specialty North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences in Shillong - developed minor cracks.

Cracks in buildings were also reported from Mizoram's capital, Aizawl, located 348km from the epicentre. Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Nabam Tuki instructed the district administration to take precautionary measures following reports of minor damages in the frontier state.

Centre's response

Union home minister Rajnath Singh, who is on a two-day trip to Assam, told reporters in Guwahati this afternoon that Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to him over phone at 6am and asked him to take stock of the situation after the earthquake.

"I spoke to the chief ministers of Assam, Manipur and Mizoram regarding the situation post the earthquake and assured them of all possible help," he said.

"Minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju has reached Imphal to monitor the situation and two battalions of NDRF have also been rushed to the affected areas," Singh said.

He condoled the loss of lives in the earthquake and visited the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital to meet people injured in the earthquake.