Tremors rock parts of North Bengal, Arunachal; no casualties

MP | 19 July 2019 | Darjeeling: Tremors rocked parts of North East India, North Bengal and the neighboring Bhutan. The epicenter of the earthquake was detected in the Kurung Kumey district of Arunachal Pradesh. Two more aftershocks were witnessed in the region.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the first tremor was felt at 2:52 pm on Friday in East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, the tremors of which were felt in Itanagar, Guwahati, other parts of Assam and Dimapur in Nagaland. 

The quake measured 5.6 on the Richter scale with a depth of 10 km. The epicenter was located at 27.7 degree North 92.8 degree East. 

The next aftershock occurred at 3:04 pm, with a magnitude of 3.8 having a depth of 10 km. There was another aftershock recorded at 3:21 pm, measuring 4.9 with a depth of 95 km. 

Tremors were also felt in Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland, along with parts of North Bengal including Siliguri, which triggered panic among local residents. 

There was, however, no report of any casualty or damages resulting from the tremors, each of which lasted for a few seconds. 

According to seismologists, the northeastern region comes under Zone 5 on the seismic map, making the states susceptible to earthquakes.