BHUBANESWAR: A strong earthquake on the Myanmar-India border region shook large parts of Odisha with back-to-back tremors sending panic waves among the people on Wednesday evening.
The earthquake,measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, was felt across North-East and large parts of eastern India at about 7.25 pm.
The US Geological Society measured the magnitude at 6.9. As tremors were reported in many parts of the State, people rushed out of their homes to open spaces in panic. In some places, people reported back-to back tremors within seconds, whereas in some areas, there was no report of any quake.
The India Meteorological Department said the earthquake had its epicentre on Myanmar-India border region, at a distance of about 985 km from Bhubaneswar in East-North-East direction, at a depth of 134 km. It was felt in most parts of Odisha, Director Sarat Chandra Sahu said.
People in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Balasore, Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh reported experiencing the tremors.
In the State capital, people rushed out of multi-storeyed apartments after experiencing the tremors. Similar reports came in from Cuttack which is located between two rivers. Mild tremors were also felt at Rourkela for a few seconds. Residents of apartments at Gaffur Colony of Uditnagar were seen coming out of their houses. However, there was no report of any damage to any building or any injury so far.
Bhubaneswar falls in the moderate damage risk zone on the Seismic map of India, also called Earthquake Zone-III. In Cuttack, two jolts, each lasting four to five seconds, were felt. “I was busy cooking when I felt my feet shaking. I alerted my family members. We all rushed out of our house,” said Swagatika Mohanty, a resident of Mangalabag .