Another tremor rocks region

DIMAPUR, FEB 24: Following Tuesday's earth tremor measuring 4 on the Richter scale in Assam and Nagaland, another earthquake approximately of similar magnitude again jolted

the region on Wednesday evening triggering fears of the big one that has been forecast for some time.
In Dimapur, the earthquake was felt at around 8:15 pm. Residents were seen rushing out of their homes in panic, particularly with two quite strong tremors following each other so closely. Reports from other districts of the State could not be ascertained at the time of filing this report.
There is palpable fear brewing among the public especially with these two quakes coming within a span of 30 hours. According to agency reports, the epicentre of Tuesday's tremor originated from Nagaon, 127 east of Assam's main city Guwahati.
When contacted over phone, a member of the North East Institute of Science and Technology (NEIST) Jorhat told Eastern Mirror that the signs 'are not very good because sometimes prior to a major earthquake, occurrence of a few shocks tends to take place.'
However, dispelling any unwanted trepidation, he also said frequent occurrence of tremors does not always indicate that a major quake is imminent while assuring that so far studies have revealed no such big threat. The region is being monitored 24 hours, he added.
"There is no reason to panic unduly, but preparations need to be made in the event such a natural disaster does take place," he stated while advising all to be aware of the basic tenets of keeping basic food items for survival of minimum 3 days at hand, first aid, mobile phones with contact number of respective disaster management authority.
North East region falls in Zone V, the most severe seismic hazard in the country, and is the most seismically active region worldwide. But except for the August 6, 1988 Indo-Burma Earthquake (Mw = 7.2), no other recorded strong motion data are available for the region. However, there are several ground motion records for minor and moderate magnitude earthquakes.(EMN)