People across Nagaland were rudely woken up from their slumber at around 4.30 a.m. Monday when violent tremors shook buildings, rattled hanging objects and caused articles to fall off shelves etc after an earthquake of high intensity of 6.7 on the Richter Scale hit north east with epicenter at Manipur’s Tamenglong district (contiguous with Peren district).
The violent tremor lasted for over 30 seconds. Official sources said no casualty was so far reported at the time of filing this report, although some buildings developed cracks.
Monday’s earthquake sent tremors that were felt in 11 states of India, alongwith Myanmar and Bangladesh. Afterschock occured at 9.27 a.m. but which was felt only at the epicenter region.
When contacted for information, Deputy Commissioner Dimapur district, Kesonyü Yhome informed Nagaland Post, that so far there was no report of any casualty of extensive damage to property throughout the district. He however said damages to property, if any, would be known after two or three days.
He disclosed, that so far, a church building in the town suffered some cracks on the wall. Yhome also admitted that in the event of a major calamity, Dimapur district lacked adequate manpower and equipment to handle any such eventuality. The DC who is also the chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) said the authority was in the process of strengthening the DDMA which also included all heads of various government departments in the district.
He also stressed on the need to create greater awareness among people and providing them with adequate training on disaster management. Yhome said people needed to be professionally trained for disaster management as “community respondents” who would initially tackle any emergency situation before the arrival of trained personnel from departments or agencies.
Meanwhile Police Commissioner Dimapur district, Liremo Lotha informed that so far, there was no report of any casualty in the district. He also said the department had 25 to 30 personnel on standby, who had undergone training under DDMA and possessed modern equipment provided by the state government.
Liremo also appealed to citizens not to panic during any calamity but to immediately move to a safe location. He also advised people to keep sufficient stock of drinking water, first-aid items, food items in an accessible place, in case of any eventuality. It was also reported, that in Kohima, people were forced to flee from the warmth of their beds to face the winter chill outdoors as precautionary measure. In the past, tradition among the local people was to beat tins or roofs with sticks to ward off such calamities.
A big tremor also hit Kohima in 1969 which shook buildings, swayed electric poles as the ground swayed.
In Zunheboto district, people were jolted by the tremor causing panic and confusion as people ran outdoors in shock at around 4.36 a.m. Monday. However there was no report of any casualty or major damage to property.
When contacted ADC Zunheboto Amen Imchen confirmed that there was no report of any casualty or damage to property. The earthquake was also felt in other districts like Longleng, Peren, Wokha, Mokokchung and Phek.
Earthquakes in NE
On June 28,2015 an earthquake of a magnitude of 5.6 on the Richter Scale hit Dibrugarh killing three and felt in Meghalya, West Bengal and Bhutan. On April 25, 2015 an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter Scale hit Nepal killing several hundreds. The tremors reverberated across north and north east India.
In September 2011 an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter Scale hit Sikkim-Nepal border leaving 18 dead.
A moderate earthquake struck the Myanmar-Manipur border, on September 18, 2005 with a magnitude of 5 on the Richter Scale.
A moderate earthquake struck the Myanmar-Manipur border, on September 4, 2009
Other major earthquakes included the August 15,1950 in Assam, having a magnitude of 8.6 on the Richter Scale and the largest ever recorded since India’s independence.
Another major earthquake the hit the north east was on June 12,1897 that hit Shillong, with a magnitude of 8.6 on the Richter Scale.
Sunday, April 12, 2026