My phone rang at 4 am this morning. When I saw my father’s name flashing on the screen I became filled with trepidation. By the time I got my finger to tap on ‘accept’, the call was disconnected. I quickly called back wondering what had happened when my Dad answered and without preamble told me that an extremely big earthquake had shaken them awake. He said both he and my Mom were fine but the house, doors and windows had rattled so hard that they were still in a bit of shock.
In the early hours of January 4 2016, an earthquake with a 6.8 magnitude hit north east India. The epicentre was located at Tamenglong, which is only 33 kilometers from Imphal, the capital to the state of Manipur that sits on the India-Myanmar border. The epicentre was 17 kilometers underground. If the house in Kolkata shook as hard as my father described then the people for Manipur and Myanmar would have experienced some serious tremors.
After initial reports we have confirmation that 6 people died, and over 100 people were injured in Imphal due to this earthquake. The aftershock of the original quake was felt after 5 hours and measured in at a magnitude of 3.6 on the Richter Scale. The maximum damage has been to buildings in Imphal and the Ima Keithel, a major market which is run by the women of Manipur.
The PMO is keeping a close watch on the situation and is in constant touch with the affected states. NDMA is monitoring and coordinating all relief and aid being sent to the affected states. The National Crisis Management Committee met at 10:30 this morning to assess the damage and create plans for rehabilitation.
Author: Tora Sen
Story Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/6-7-magnitude-earthquake-strikes-myanmar-india-border-region/1/561645.html
http://qz.com/585223/a-strong-6-8-magnitude-earthquake-has-just-hit-northeast-india/
Feature Image Source: https://qzprod.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/quake.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600