Houses in several districts develop cracks; landslides cause road blockade; DDM monitoring situation as aftershocks continue till afternoon

ITANAGAR, Apr 28: Strong tremors were felt across Arunachal Pradesh on Wednesday morning after seven back-to-back earthquakes jolted Assam and other Northeastern states, causing extensive damage to buildings and forcing people to scamper out of their homes.
The first of the shocks of 6.4 magnitude with its epicentre at 43 km west of Tezpur, the district headquarters of Sonitpur district in Assam was felt at 7.51 am, Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) Deputy Director Sanjay O'neil Shaw said. The effect was felt in almost the entire Northeast region and even parts of West Bengal. It was followed in quick succession by lesser intensity tremors of 4.7, 4, and two 3.6 magnitudes at 8.03 am, 8.13 am, 8.25 am and 8.44 am. Another earthquake of 3.2 magnitude hit Assam’s Nagaon district at 10.05 am and a little later at 10.39 am, another jolt of 3.4 magnitude hit Tezpur. People ran out of their homes and other places in panic, obliterating social distancing and other COVID guidelines amid a raging pandemic. No casualty was reported, but many people suffered minor injuries while running out in panic as the first quake struck.
Although there were no casualties in Arunachal Pradesh, reports of damages to houses and water pipelines have arrived from several districts and the state’s Department of Disaster Management (DDM) is monitoring the situation. Secretary, Disaster Management issued directives to the Deputy Commissioners to take stock of the situation and submit damage reports immediately. As per the district-wise damage reports received till 4 pm, Tawang, West Kameng and Lower Subansiri suffered from major to minor damages.
DDMO Tawang in its preliminary report informed that 22 houses were damaged due to the tremors, out of which 7 were fully damaged and 15 underwent partial damage. There were also reports that 2 persons received minor injuries due to collapse of a house and further details are awaited. In West Kameng a major water pipeline was damaged and cracks developed in the ADC office building in Bhalukpong. Landslides triggered by the tremors resulted in boulders falling from hillside on the BCT road between Bhalukpong and Tippi. Cracks were found on the walls of several buildings of business establishments and hotels in the township. As per last report, the road between Membachur and Gorbow villages remained blocked due to landslides and stone falling along with minor cracks in many dwellings. The district’s disaster management control room has been activated. In Lower Subansiri, except for minor damage to an electric pole at Pistana, there was no major destruction of properties. 

"An earthquake hit this morning in Assam & tremors felt in Arunachal & NE. My prayers for everyone''s safety. May all ensure their safety and of their loved ones. Thanks to PM @narendramodi Ji, HM @AmitShah Ji and @DrJitendraSingh Ji for promptly responding to the situation," Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu tweeted.
It may be recalled that a state level mega mock exercise on earthquake scenario was conducted on February 11, 2020 participated by all the DCs, SPs, representatives from the Health department, paramilitary forces, Army, Air Force, GREF, NDRF, SDRF etc. A further review of the mock exercise was also held online on February 11 this year involving all District Administrations. As a measure of preparedness for the approaching monsoon in particular and other disasters in general, the Department of Disaster Management has issued a detailed guideline pertaining to tackling any disaster situation in the state to all DCs and HoDs on April 16 last. The department had also concluded the training of 1280 community volunteers from all over the state recently on the basics of disaster response during earthquakes. The services of these volunteers will be utilized in the districts during disasters and also for Covid-19 management, if required.
The department is also in liaison with Central Water Commission, Itanagar and IMD, Guwahati for daily weather forecast and flood warnings. Helpline numbers of State Emergency Operation Centre (9436074396, 8257891310) and District Emergency Operation Centre (1077) are also currently active 24x7. DDM PR with inputs from PTI

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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