Earthquake in Siliguri
A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 struck Assam on Sunday afternoon, sending strong tremors across Northeast India and several neighboring countries. The quake, which occurred at approximately 4:41 PM IST, prompted widespread panic, causing residents in cities like Siliguri to rush out of their homes and offices in fear.
The National Center for Seismology (NCS) reported that the earthquake’s epicenter was located 16 kilometers from Dhekiajuli in Assam. The jolts were not confined to India; their impact was felt across a vast international area, including Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and parts of China. So far, there have been no immediate official reports of significant damage or casualties.
The event has highlighted the region’s intense seismic activity, as it follows other recent tremors. Earlier this month, on September 2, a smaller earthquake of magnitude 3.5 was recorded in Assam’s Sonitpur district.
A Region on Tectonically Active Ground
This part of the world is a hotbed for seismic activity due to complex geological interactions. The constant pressure from the Indian tectonic plate pushing against the Eurasian plate makes the entire Himalayan belt extremely vulnerable to earthquakes.
Neighboring Myanmar, which also felt today’s quake, is particularly susceptible. The country lies at the intersection of four major tectonic plates: the Indian, Eurasian, Sunda, and Burma plates. It is also sliced by the massive 1,400-kilometer-long Sagaing Fault, a transform fault that poses a significant threat to major cities like Mandalay and Yangon.
Recent activity in Myanmar underscores the regional instability. A magnitude 4.0 earthquake was recorded there just yesterday, on Saturday, at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers. This followed a more significant 4.7 magnitude quake on September 4, which occurred at a depth of 120 kilometers. Experts continuously monitor this volatile region, as the interacting plates create a constant risk of both moderate and large-scale seismic events.
Source: dainik jagran