Light intensity earthquake hits parts of Assam

Guwahati :  A light-intensity earthquake, measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale, hit Assam's Udalguri district on the northern bank of Brahmaputra on Sunday, officials said.

Assam's Disaster management official said the quake was felt in the state's Udalguri district, bordering Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh.

The officials said there has been no report of any casualty or damage to property due to the quake.

According to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS), the quake's depth was 15 km.

People in the neighbouring Darrang, Sonitpur districts and adjoining areas also felt the jerk.

The quake caused some panic among the residents who rushed out of their homes.

The quake was epicentred around 105 km north of Guwahati.

Disaster management officials said the tremor could be felt in some areas of western Arunachal Pradesh and eastern Bhutan.

At least one state in the mountainous northeastern region experiences earthquakes every week with most tremors measuring 3 to 4 on the Richter scale.

On June 26, an earthquake measuring 3.2 on the Richter Scale was felt in Assam's Karbi Anglong district. Its depth was 25 km.

Successive earthquakes, mostly mild to moderate, in the mountainous northeastern states, especially in Assam, Mizoram and Manipur, have kept the authorities worried, forcing public and private builders to build quake-proof structures.

Seismologists consider the mountainous northeastern region as the sixth most earthquake-prone belt in the world.

In 1950, an earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter Scale altered the course of the mighty Brahmaputra river, which passes by the congested Guwahati city, the northeastern region's main commercial hub.