Early morning, today, Myanmar-India border region was hit by an earthquake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale. Tremors were also felt in certain parts of northeast India. Other states that felt the tremors were Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand. At least eight persons were killed and 100 injured in Manipur. Indian Meteorological Department, reports that the epicentre was in Tamenglong district, in Manipur and state government officials said the epicentre was in Noney village in Tamenglong around 35 kms from Imphal.

There is large scale damage in Imphal with many houses reporting huge cracks. The walls of many buildings have also collapsed. The US Geological Survey said the quake hit at 4:35 am (2305 GMT Sunday) 29 kilometres (18 miles) west-northwest of Imphal, capital of Manipur state. India`s seven northeastern states, joined to the rest of the country by a narrow sliver of land, which are located in an area of frequent seismic activity. The tremors were also felt as far away as Kolkata some 600 kilometres distant in the state of West Bengal, where buildings shook.

Imphal resident Deepak Shijagurumayum whose house was severely damaged said that, "Almost everyone was asleep when it struck and were thrown out of their beds. People were crying and praying in the streets and in open spaces. Hundreds remained outdoors for several hours fearing aftershocks."

"Many people were seen coming out of their homes in panic," said local resident Rabin Dev.

"I felt someone was waking me up. When I woke up, I felt it was a strong tremor," Sudhir Kumar a resident of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand said.

"Spoke to Rajnath ji, who is in Assam, on the situation arising due to the earthquake & asked him to oversee the situation," PM Modi tweeted. “Spoke to Arunachal Pradesh CM Shri Nabam Tuki on the situation arising in the wake of the earthquake,” Modi tweeted.

By Premji