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A
moderate earthquake struck the Bhutan
Himalayas on 26 March 2003 at 01:21 AM
Bhutan local time. It had a magnitude of
Mw=5.4 and lasted close to 40-seconds.
The earthquake
was centred 7.4
kms WNW of
Suchha, Bhutan,
16.9 kilometres SSW
of Paro International Airport, Paro, Bhutan,
36.4 kilometres
SW of Thimphu, Bhutan,
43.9 kilometres
N of Phuntsholing,
Bhutan,
50.1 kilometres ESE
of Xarsingma (Xizang), China,
77.2 kilometres E of Gangtok (Sikkim), India,
77.4 kilometres SW of Punakha, Bhutan,
115 kilometres ENE of Darjeeling (West Bengal),
India,
170 kilometres N of Rangpur (Rajshahi),
Bangladesh.
The shock was
felt strongly for 10-seconds in Bhutan
including at Thimphu and a few buildings developed new
cracks. Many people were
woken up and ran outdoors. At Phuentsholing, near the
India-Bhutan border, people were shaken
awake and ran outdoors. Walls of buildings trembled under the
impact of the shock and electricity
supply was cut for 30-minutes.
The earthquake was
also felt in adjoining parts of eastern and north-east India. In
West Bengal, it was felt for several
seconds at Shiliguri and in parts of
north Bengal. Its intensity is said to have "surpassed other
recent quakes". People were woken up
at Shiliguri and remained outdoors for
half an hour, fearing aftershocks. In Meghalaya, the earthquake
was felt for a few seconds in the state capital, Shillong.
It was also felt at Guwahati
in Assam. Tremors were also experienced Sikkim, Arunachal
Pradesh, north-western Assam, and all of north Bengal, including
the districts of North Dinajpur and Darjeeling.
Tremors were also felt
in northern Bangladesh. A shock lasting 5-seconds
was experienced at Sylhet in eastern
Bangladesh. At Pachagarh, the tremor was felt moderately for 40-seconds
spreading panic among the populace. There was also panic in
Thakurgaon when it was shaken for close to 40-seconds.
The strongest tremors in Bangladesh, were felt in Rangpur, where
they lasted over 40-seconds and numerous
old buildings developed cracks. Resident of Kurigram also reported
the quake and said that it lasted 40-seconds.
Mild tremors were experienced for 4-seconds
at Sherpur. This earthquake were also
reported from eastern Nepal and parts of southern Xizang, China.
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References
01)
National
Earthquake Information Centre (NEIC), Golden, USA.
02) India Meteorological Department (IMD),
Delhi.
03)
Macroseismic information has been compiled by
the ASC from reports by local media and local NGO personnel.
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