Assam has been hit by a second, moderate earthquake of 4.6 magnitude on Thursday, 29 April at around 1.20 am, 4.8 km west of Rangapara, Sonitpur, confirmed a tweet by Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
This comes merely 24 hours after the first severe one of 6.4 magnitude hit the northeastern state on Wednesday.
No extensive damage has been reported by the second one, as per NDTV. However, officials in the report mention that Assam has recorded at least 18 aftershocks, a majority of it in Sonitpur district.
"The historical and instrumentally recorded earthquake data (NCS catalogue) reveals that the region is affected by moderate to large earthquakes and the most prominent events among those are the 29 July 1960, Assam earthquake of magnitude 6.0," said the National Center for Seismology (NCS) in a statement.
On Wednesday, an earthquake of a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter Scale hit Sonitpur, Assam, at 7:51 am, the National Center for Seismology said. The epicentre of the quake was 43 km west of Tezpur.
Strong tremors were felt across the state.
Ten casualties were reported, including two who died of a heart attack, and several buildings reported significant damage. Officials said that two more earthquakes hit the state back-to-back following the first, with the strongest being of 6.4 magnitude.
According to PTI, the tremors were also felt in Meghalaya as well as Bengal. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that strong tremors repeatedly struck other northeastern areas as well as parts of Bhutan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and others offered their condolences and support to the state on Wednesday.
(With inputs from PTI, Reuters and NDTV)
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