Tremors felt across northeast as 4.9 magnitude strikes Bhutan

Tremors were felt across the northeast after a 4.9 magnitude earthquake struck Bhutan on Saturday, said the National Centre for Seismology (NCS).

The quake had an epicentre around 3 kilometres from Gyelpozhing in Bhutan and struck at a depth of 5 kilometres around 4.01 pm. It struck at a latitude of 27.163 North and a longitude of 91.240 East. 

The tremors of the earthquake were felt across the northeast, including Assam and other states in the region. However, no reports of damages or any kind of casualty has been reported as of now. 

But authorities would remain cautious and would monitor the situation over a possible aftershock.

Back-to-back quakes in Nepal

The earthquake in Bhutan came three days after back-to-back quakes struck northwestern Nepal. The first quake of 4.5 magnitude was recorded at 1:51 am (local time), while the second quake, with a magnitude of 4.2, struck at 4:28 am (local time), with its epicentre also located around Kalai in Mugu district.

The tremors were felt even in the neighbouring districts of Dolpa and Jumla; however, there was no immediate report of any damage caused by the tremors.

The seismically active zone

Nepal is situated in a seismically active zone, causing frequent earthquakes in the region. On September 8, another earthquake of 5.3 magnitude had struck the Mustang district in the Himalayan nation.

Its epicentre was at Lomanthang in Mustang district, 375 km northwest of Kathmandu, the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre said, adding that it occurred around 9.53 pm local time. The tremors were also felt in Manang, Dolp and Myagdi districts.

However, no damages were reported.

Mustang is approximately 250 kilometres away from the major flash-flood-hit areas in northern-central Nepal. The flash floods, triggered by an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border on August 26, sent the Bhotekoshi River raging downstream, washing away homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects across northern and central Nepal. 

The death count has crossed the 1,400-mark in Nepal, while thousands still remain missing.