Representative image of a seismograph during an earthquake.
Credit: iStock Photo
Guwahati: Two girls were injured after the ceiling of their hostel collapsed due to an earthquake measuring 5.8 at the Richter scale, having epicenter in North Assam's Udalguri district, on Sunday afternoon.
The first quake was reported at 4.41pm following which three more were reported in the span of about 1.5 hours. The second quake was measured at 3.1 with epicenter in Udalguri while the third one was 2.9 with epicenter in neighbouring Sonitpur district. At 6.11pm, another afterquake measuring 2.7 in Richter Scale was felt with Udalguri as the epicenter.
The girls got minor injuries at the Danda Saharia Girls hostel in Udalguri district while several houses in neighbouring Biswanath, Darrang, Hojai and Sonitpur developed minor cracks.
Ceiling of a community hall in Nalbari district reported minor damages, said a preliminary report prepared by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA).
Panic gripped the state capital Guwahati and rest of Assam as the first earthquake hit the state at 4.41pm. Residents rushed out of their houses and apartments out of fear. No report of damage or cracks in buildings were reported in Guwahati till evening.
The ASDMA report said one concrete house developed cracks in Sonitpur while boundary walls and ceilings collapsed in some other places in North Assam.
"There has been no report about deaths due to the earthquakes so far. An assessment is underway to ascertain the estimate of the damages.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who reached Kolkata from Assam, called up CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and enquired about the earthquakes and the damages.
"He assured me of all possible help from the Government of India," Sarma posted on X on Sunday evening. Hours before the earthquakes, PM Modi attended two events in Darrang and Golaghat district.
"The situation now is under control and our teams making an assessment of the damages," Sarma added.