Earthquake in Sonitpur, Assam: Strong earthquake tremors have been felt in Northeast India this morning. This earthquake has occurred in Assam, Meghalaya, North Bengal. The quake in Sonitpur in Assam has been measured at 6.4 on the Richter scale. The first tremor was felt at 7:51 am, followed by a five-time earthquake. At present, there is no news of any casualty.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, ‘There was a strong earthquake in Assam. I urge everyone to be cautious. I am taking updates from all the districts. At the same time, Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has shared some pictures of the damage caused by the earthquake.
Earthquake in Sonitpur, Assam
Few early pictures of damage in Guwahati. pic.twitter.com/lTIGwBKIPV
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) April 28, 2021
Why earthquake comes
The earth is mainly made up of four layers: inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust. The crust and upper mantle core are called lithospheres. This 50 km thick layer is divided into several sections, which are called tectonic plates. These tectonic plates keep moving in their place. When these plates move too much, an earthquake is felt. These plates can move both horizontally and vertically from their place. After this, she searches for her place while remaining stationary, during which one plate falls under the other plate.
The earthquake’s intensity is gauged by the waves of energy emanating from the centre (epicentre). These waves vibrate for hundreds of kilometres and fall to the cracks in the earth. If the earthquake’s depth is shallow, the energy exiting from it is very close to the surface, causing terrible destruction. But the earthquakes that come in the depths of the earth do not cause much damage to the surface. High and robust waves arise when there is an earthquake in the sea, called a tsunami.
How earthquake intensity is measured
The Richter scale is used to measure the intensity of an earthquake. This is called the Richter Magnitude Test Scale. Earthquakes are measured on a Richter scale from 1 to 9. Its epicentre measures an earthquake. The quake is divided into four different zones. According to the macroseismic zoning mapping, it includes zone-5 to zone-2. Zone 5 is considered to be st sensitive, and similarly area, two is regarded as sensitive.
