A powerful earthquake struck Northeast India and Bangladesh early Monday morning [January 4, 2015], killing at least 11, and injuring nearly 200.
The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the quake as being 6.8 on the Richter scale and being 57 km (35 miles) deep. It struck just 29 km (18 miles) west of Imphal, capital of Manipur, bordering Myanmar.
Killing 6 in India and 5 in Bangladesh, shockwaves from the earthquake were felt in Nepal and even as far as 1,175 km (730 miles) south in the Myanmar city of Yangon.
Joy Thanglian, a 33-year old employee of Bharat Petroleum said, “It was like being tossed around in a frying pan.”
Residents say power and telecom links were down in a region, while many fled from their homes.
Many are also criticizing the government’s slow response, and lack of sufficient equipment to clear debris and clear devastated areas.
“We haven’t seen any help from the government side,” says Kangujam, a disaster volunteer. “The government has not given us any information.”
However, authorities say that two teams from the National Disaster Response Force arrived to help with rescue operations.
According to academics at the Department of Seismological Research at Manipur University, this was the most powerful earthquake to hit the state since 1957.
