Hours after a 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit the North East at 4.35 am on Monday, the extent of the damage was still unclear. At least six deaths have been reported in Manipur so far, three in Imphal West district and one in Imphal East district, but information from the remote areas has been slow to travel. Manipur was the worst hit, since the epicentre of the quake was in the hilly Tamenglong district. But neighbouring Assam and Nagaland were also affected.
“I know of four people injured in Tamenglong,” said Pamei Tingenlung John, tribunal general of the All Zeliangrong Students’ Union. “But we cannot connect with the interior villages. Our organisation is discussing how to reach them. I am in Imphal and as of now, we have no news of how the state government is handling the quake.”
Images of rubble and gashes in the earth emerged quicky on social media.
Most of the visible damage seems to be concentrated in Imphal city, where a six-storey reportedly collapsed. “I heard that Imphal market has been damaged,” said Nonibala Narengbam, who works with the Integrated Rural Development for Service Organisation.“But I live two kilometres away from the city and just travelled through the outskirts and there seems to be no damage. Life is normal outside the city.”
In Churachandpur, about 60 kilometres from Imphal, some buildings show cracks. “It was one of the most serious quakes I have ever experienced,” said Mary Beth Sanate, a human rights activist. "All the doors in my house that were not locked suddenly opened. My almirah opened. I had to run out of the house.”
In Assam, Guwahati also felt the jolt. “It was very strong here but we are still trying to get news from other sources,” said Rehana Rehman, a member of Action Aid, which will be involved in relief work. “I heard reports of a death in Guwahati but I just travelled 11 kilometres through the city and there was no visible damage. We are trying to talk to people from different regions and compile a report of our own.” Everyday life, however, had returned to normal in the city.
In Dimapur, Nagaland, people evacuated buildings as they felt the tremors but no damage has been reported so far. Both Manipur and Nagaland saw long power outages. In Dimapur and Imphal, the electricity supply went off as soon as the quake hit. It returned only around 11 am.
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