Major natural disaster strikes in northeast India

Portions of walls, staircases and roofs in some buildings collapsed in Imphal.

Although no major building collapsed in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country yet, the powerful quake reportedly caused cracks and tilting of some buildings.

Quick rescue operations were started in the area by the Manipur administration with the help of the Indian Army and paramilitary forces.

Rescue workers in Imphal used hand-held drilling machines to clear rubble from the ruins of a six-storey building under construction, the site of the heaviest damage in the city.

The injured have been admitted to RIMS, JNIMS and Shija Hospital, they added. Of the three, one had an injury to the nose, one to the head and the third suffered trauma.

One 23-year-old Bangladeshi man died after suffering a stroke when he ran out of his house, while another two people – a farmer and a university official – died of heart attacks, police said.

Almost 90 members of the National Disaster Response Force have left to check on remote areas, police said. Ibobi Singh convened a cabinet meeting to review the situation.

Indian government seismologists said the earthquake’s epicentre was in the Tamenglong district of Manipur state, near the border with Myanmar.

Strong tremors could be felt across the region, the BBC said, and India’s Meteorological Department reported it hit at a depth of about 10 miles.

The quake occurred about 18 miles west of Imphal, the state capital, around 4:35 a.m. Monday, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The USGS has raised its assessment alert for casualties and damage to orange, meaning there is a 33 percent chance of between 100 and 1,000 fatalities.

A resident in Imphal said that the natural disaster was the largest he has ever felt.

Meanwhile, Minister of State (PMO) Jitendra Singh met the victims of the natural disaster and assured them all possible assistance from the Centre. He said, “I am trying to contact people and am monitoring the situation”.

As residents felt massive shaking at least twice within 60 seconds, many panicked and rushed out of their homes in Gauhati, the capital of neighboring Assam state. Many buildings have been badly damaged in various areas of Northeast India.

The Northeast Frontier Railway suspended train movement for two hours immediately after the quake.