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A moderate
earthquake struck the
Sikkim Himalayas on 20 May 2007 at
19:48 PM local time resulting in some panic
and minor damage in the state of Sikkim, India. It had a magnitude of
Mb=5.0. A M3.5
aftershock on 23 May caused some anxiety but no damage and an M3.3
aftershock occurred on 26 May. Two persons were killed in an
aftershock on 26 May.
The earthquake was centred
in the vicinity of the village of
Singyang (Sikkim), India,
7.3 kms NE of Dentam (Sikkim), India,
10.7 kms NW of Ringchingpong (Sikkim), India,
20.4 kms NW of Naya Bazaar (Sikkim), India,
24.1 kms ENE of Chyangthapu (Mechi zone), Nepal,
30.1 kms NNW of Darjeeling (West Bengal), India,
38.2 kms NW of Kalimpong (West Bengal), India,
41.9 kms W of Gangtok (Sikkim), India,
51.6 kms NNE of Illam (Mechi zone), Nepal,
68.7 kms NNW of Shiliguri (West Bengal), India,
103 kms NNW of Jalpaiguri (West Bengal), India,
131 kms NE of Biratnagar (Kosi zone), Nepal.
Tremors from this earthquake were felt in many
parts of Sikkim including the capital, Gangtok.
Minor cracks developed in some buildings in the Tashiding Monastry
complex near in West Sikkim. People ran outdoors in panic and there was a
short-lived power failure in Gezing, Jorethang, Namchi and in parts of the
West Sikkim district. At Namchi, people remained outdoors for more
than an hour in fear of another earthquake. Tremors were also felt at Pakyong, Rangpo, Ranka, Ranipool, Rhenok,
Rongli and Singtam in the state. This earthquake was stronger than
a Mb=4.6 event two days earlier. In adjoining parts of West Bengal
it was felt at
Darjeeling, Mirik, Kalimpong, Kurseong,
Shiliguri, Sukhiyapokhri and Tadong. In
Darjeeling, tremors were experienced for 3-4 seconds while in
Shiliguri they lasted close to 10-seconds.
An
Mb=3.5 aftershock occurred on 23 May at 23:11 local time and was centred along the Nepal-Sikkim border. It was felt in the
districts of West and South Sikkim as well as in the capital,
Gangtok. On 26 May a mild tremor was felt in the Ravangla area of
South Sikkim at 11:00 local time. It triggered a mudslide that
claimed the lives of two labourers at a construction site. Another
minor aftershock of M?=3.3 occurred on 26 May at 15:58 local time. The earthquake on 20 May was the third and strongest
earthquake in a sequence of tremors that have struck the Sikkim-Nepal
border since 16 May 2007. On 16 May a Mb=4.0 earthquake occurred
on the Nepal-Sikkim border. It was followed by
the
Mb=4.6 Nambu
earthquake, named after the village closest to the epicentre, on
18 May 2007 that was strongly felt in much of the state.
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