Earthquake shakes Manipur
An earthquake of 6.7 magnitude jolted northeastern India early Monday morning at around 4:36 am. 8 people have been killed while another 100 injured in Manipur. While the Indian Meteorological department claimed that the epicentre was in Tamenglong district, in Manipur, the state government officials said the epicentre was near Imphal. The government is assessing the situation and providing help to those affected.
The tremors were also felt in Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar. Hajipur, Gaya and Patna were also jolted by the tremors that lasted for about 5-6 seconds at around 4:40 am, however, no damages or loss of life was reported from the region. In West Bengal too people were woken by shaking beds, especially the ones in high-rise buildings.
China's state news agency Xinhua also reported that tremors had been felt in southeast Tibet as well, with the areas of Nyingchi, Shannan and Qamdo and Lhasa feeling "strong tremors".
The Northeast Frontier Railway ceased train movement for 2 hours after the earthquake to avoid any mishaps. The earthquake also raised the alarm of a Nepal-like tragedy as the tectonic disturbance lies in the same geographical region. The Centre said it was closely observing the situation and that area was put on high vigil, in case another tremor struck the forces would be prepared.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quick to commission help to the region, tweeting that an NDRF team had been instructed to move from Guwahati to the affected areas. Further he directed Rajnath Singh, who is in Assam to oversee the situation. The Prime Minister's office also tweeted saying PM Modi was continuously monitoring the situation in the Northeast.
While the authorities said they were doing everything, civilians complained at the authorities' 'slow response' claiming that "although the Army had begun to clear some debris, it appeared to be short on heavy equipment". A disaster response volunteer in Manipur said: "We haven't seen any help from the government side until now". Further, people complained over the lack of information from the government's side.
With the powerful earthquake rocking India and neighbouring areas, Facebook activated its safety check tool to help people in the area let friends and family know they are safe. "My thoughts are with everyone in the affected areas. May you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy," Zuckerberg said.
