Earthquake of magnitude 4.7 on Richter scale hits Assam

An earthquake of magnitude 4.7 on the Richter scale occurred near Tezpur in Assam on Wednesday, according to the National Centre for Seismology. The tremors were felt at 5.54 pm 17 km west-northwest of Tezpur, added the National Centre for Seismology. There were no reports of any damage to properties or injuries to people.

This comes less than a week after a high-intensity earthquake hit Tajikistan, tremors of which were felt in Delhi-NCR and several other parts of north India. The seismology department at first erroneously gave the epicentre of the February 12 quake as Amritsar and put the quake's depth at 19 km. It later sent a revised statement to confirm the quake was in Tajikistan.

According to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS), the magnitude of the quake was 6.3. The tremors created panic among people who rushed out of their homes. However, there were no immediate reports of any loss of life or damage to property. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was virtually interacting with students of the University of Chicago, was heard saying that his entire room was "shaking".

National Conference (NC) leader said the tremors reminded the people of the 2005 quake in Jammu and Kashmir. "Not since the earthquake of 2005 have the tremors in Srinagar been bad enough to force me out of the house. I grabbed a blanket & ran. I didn't remember to take my phone & so was unable to tweet 'earthquake' while the damn ground was shaking," he had tweeted.

"No reports of any damage so far in Amritsar or other parts of Punjab following the earthquake. Top officials of Punjab police and local administration are keeping a close watch on the situation. Praying for everyone's safety," Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had said in a tweet.