Guwahati (Assam) : The 6.4 magnitude earthquake, that hit Assam’s Sonitpur on Wednesday morning, shook Guwahati too.
A lot of walls of buildings in Guwahati developed cracks soon after the earthquake hit Sonitpur around 8 am.
State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Assam police reached Laxmi Apartments to review the damage caused to the building.
Speaking to ANI, police official Abhishek Sinha, who was inspecting the apartments, said,
“We have seen three buildings that have developed cracks. There are more buildings and we are yet to assess, as it will take a lot of time.”
“We can’t ask people to leave their buildings. The structural engineer will have to assess that. Moreover, where will they go if they leave their houses? That also poses another problem,” he added.
Raj Berman, who lives in the apartment complex said, “The ones who lived here on rent have left. But we have our own houses here and we cannot leave. We are seeking answers if this place is okay to live in. We haven’t seen such an earthquake before.”
Sikha, a housewife described her terrifying experience and said, “I have not experienced anything like this before. It was still early in the morning and everybody was asleep. I had to carry my one and a half-year-old daughter downstairs in my arms while things kept falling on us.”
“This is an old building. We live here on rent. Now we are shifting somewhere else. This place is not in a condition to live,” she added.
According to the National Center for Seismology, the epicentre of this earthquake, which struck at 7.51 am, was 43 km west of Tezpur at a depth of 17 km.
Strong tremors were felt in parts of the northeast as well as north Bengal. While are there are no reports of anyone being injured so far, photos emerged on social media of broken walls and windows, and walls developing cracks. (ANI)
