Tremors were felt in Kolkata and different districts of West Bengal as earthquake of magnitude 6.8 on the Richter Scale hit Myanmar on Wednesday. The epicentre of the earthquake was located 25 km West of Chauk, Myanmar and depth 84.1 km below the earth surface.
People across Kolkata and suburbs came out on the streets in panic after feeling the tremors at about 16.06 hours. Metro services in the city were suspended from 16.08 hours to 16.40 hours. The tremors lasted for several seconds.
An early holiday was declared at the State Secretariat, Nabanna Building, a 14-storeyed high rise on the banks of Hooghly, due to the tremors. Employees were asked to vacate the State Administrative headquarters.
Along with Kolkata, tremors were felt in different districts of the State, including landslide-prone Darjeeling.
No reports of injuries or casualities has been reported so far.
The city over the past few years had felt tremors, particularly when a massive earthquake had struck Nepal in April 2015 followed by an earthquake in Manipur in January this year.
