Sikkim was jolted again by an earthquake of low intensity around 10. 15 p.m. on Thursday, four days after a high intensity quake of 6.9 magnitude left a trail of destruction across the State.
The fresh earthquake spread panic among the residents of this hill town, 67 km from Gangtok, who ran helter-skelter. Most of the residents had just prepared to go to bed outside their houses when the quake occurred.
Ever since cracks developed in most of the buildings of this town, headquarters of North District of Sikkim, almost all the residents have been sleeping outside and in groups. A monastery and a church collapsed in the September 18 earthquake.
In Gangtok too, people, with the impact of the September 18 earthquake and the aftershocks still fresh in their minds, panicked and rushed out to the streets.