Aryan Grover
People rushed out of their houses as panic broke when an earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale struck Sikkim at night. The epicentre of the earthquake was about 25km east- southeast (ESE) of the state capital of Gangtok, The Nation Centre for Seismology had to say. The Centre also stated that the earthquake struck at a depth of 10km from the surface.
Tremors of the earthquake are also said to have been felt in parts of Northern Bengal, as well as Assam. In north Bengal, districts like Darjeeling, Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, North and South Dinajpur and Malda felt the tremors. The earthquake was also felt in some parts of Nepal and Bhutan.
Precautionary measures were taken by the panic-struck residents, as they fled their homes in search of open spaces to stay while the tremors lasted. Fortunately, no loss of life and property has been reported so far. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has reportedly considered the damage that has taken place due to the earthquake and also been in conversations with the Chief Ministers of the affected states- Bihar, Assam, Sikkim, and West Bengal.
