Mild 3.6 quake hits Manipur-Nagaland border; no casualties reported

Imphal: A mild earthquake, measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale, was recorded in the Manipur-Nagaland border area, officials reported.

According to a Manipur disaster management official, the tremors were felt in the northern Ukhrul district of Manipur and nearby areas in Nagaland. This mountainous region also borders Myanmar. Fortunately, there have been no reports of casualties or property damage from the earthquake.

Ukhrul recently experienced violence due to a clash between residents of two Naga villages over a boundary dispute. The conflict left four people dead and more than two dozen injured.

According to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS), the quake struck at a depth of 30 km from the surface. At least one state in the mountainous northeastern region experiences earthquakes every week with most of the tremors varying measuring 3 to 4 on the Richter scale. Successive earthquakes, mostly mild to moderate, in the mountainous northeastern states, especially in Assam, Mizoram and Manipur, have kept the authorities worried, forcing the 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 had altered the course of the mighty Brahmaputra river, which passes by the congested Guwahati city, the northeastern region’s main commercial hub.

IANS