6.8 Myanmar quake: Strong tremors jolt Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, NCR

People injured by the quake in the Indian state of West Bengal were rushed off to hospital

Abhinav Bhatt | NDTV, AP, ANI and agencies, April 13, 2016: Huge tremors were felt in Kolkata after a whopper of an earthquake of 6.8 magnitude hit the areas on the India-Myanmar border. Strong tremors were reported in Guwahati and Patna, mild ones were felt in Chennai and Delhi. 

The earthquake hit at 7.25 pm and at a depth of 134 km. No damage has been reported so far from Guwahati. 

"The epicenter is in Myanmar, some 100 km off the India-Myanmar border. Since the quake occurred at a depth of 134 km, the impact could be felt at a large distance," JL Gautam, Operations Head at the National Centre for Seismology, said.

People blew conch shells on some streets in Kolkata to sound alarm and alert residents of high-rises, said some eyewitnesses. 

"It took us a few seconds to realise what was happening, but the shake was pretty evident. So we rushed out immediately," said a resident of Kolkata.

A Police outpost building in Imphal (Manipur) collapses after tremors were felt in the city.

Cracks were reported in some Kolkata buildings, while the city's Metro was suspended for a few minutes.

All the northeastern states are categorised under zone V in the country's seismological map and are considered highly vulnerable.

Because it was a land-based earthquake, there is no danger of a tsunami.

A 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the Asian nation of Myanmar at about 8:25 p.m. Wednesday night (9:55 a.m. EDT), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The tremor occurred at a depth of 83.7 miles, the USGS also reported. The epicenter was located 46 miles southeast of Mawlaik and 246 miles north of the capital, Naypyidaw, the USGS added.

In Myanmar's main city of Yangon, a town of nearly 6 million, panicked residents fled from buildings when the shaking began, according to the Associated Press. 

For at least a minute, a seven-story hospital building in the city shook strongly twice, according to AP journalist Aung Thu, who was inside at the time of the quake. Many people ran out of the building and called family members after the shaking ceased, the report added.

In the eastern Indian state of Assam, the quake was believed to be responsible for a power failure that caused outages in several areas, the AP also reported. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were in Assam's Kaziranga National Park during their royal tour of India when the earthquake shook the area, but a spokesperson told the AP they are safe.