A rupture between the Indian plate and the Burmese plate caused the large tremor that shook the entire North-East and parts of eastern India in the early morning hours today. According to N Srinagesh, seismologist at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) here, the impact of the 6.7 magnitude earthquake was felt in neighbouring Nepal as well. The earthquake was located about 25 km deep and the epicentre lay around 40 km from Imphal city, the capital of Manipur.
According to observations made by the seismological centre in Hyderabad, the earthquake was followed by at least five aftershocks in the last few hours. The epicentre being located in hilly terrain and the area being sparsely populated, the damage caused should be low.
The region falls under the Seismic Zone V (the highest risk area). Earthquake activity is not unusual in the region and a few large earthquakes with a magnitude of 7 have occurred in the past three decades, D Srinagesh told BusinessLine .
In the past two years, the region surrounding the country has experienced heightened seismic activity. The devastating 7.8 Nepal tremblor of April 25, 2015, the large 7.3 earthquake in the Hindukush region in October 2015, and earthquakes of magnitude 6 affecting Afghanistan, Pakistan and neighbourhood have been reported.