Quake jolts east and northeast India

Kolkata/ New Delhi, Aug 24 (PTI) A powerful 6.7 magnitudeearthquake, epicentred in Myanmar, today struck several partsof east and northeast India including Bihar, Odisha, Assam,West Bengal and Tripura, triggering panic but there were noimmediate reports of human casualties or damage to property. The epicentre of the quake was 58 km deep below theearth’s surface at Chauk, a small town in north-centralMyanmar, according to the National Centre for Seismology, aunit of Ministry of Earth Sciences. The US Geological Surveyput the intensity of the quake at 6.8 on the Richter scale. Tremors were also felt in several parts of north Indiaincluding Gurgaon, Manesar and Bhondsi in Haryana, authoritiessaid. Panic stricken people in Kolkata, Patna and Guwahati wereseen rushing out of their homes and offices into the streetsimmediately after the quake struck at 4:04 PM. Director of Bihar’s Met office A K Sen said some oldbuildings developed cracks following the quake but there wasno immediate report of any casualty or damage to property. People in many Bihar towns including Darbhanga,Madhubani, Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi, prone to quakes, rushedto open spaces as earth shook violently. In Odisha, tremors were felt in places like Cuttack,Paradip, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, Balasore and Keonjhar,officials said. Today’s quake in Assam followed two other tremors thatshook the state yesterday. Earthquakes measuring 3.1 and 5.5on the Richter scale had jolted Assam at 5.30 am and 7.41 amon Tuesday. Gurgaon’s District Public Relations Officer R S Sangwansaid tremors were also felt in the satellite township. PTI PRCORR SKN SUS ESB MPB SKSK