GUWAHATI, May 12 � It was for the second time in just over a fortnight. Even for those with cool minds and tough hearts it seemed as if Mother Earth was really angry.
The city, along with the rest of the State and many other parts of the Himalayan and sub-Himalayan regions, today stood standstill again, after April 25 as a series of earthquakes, originating in Nepal, caused ripples across the NE region. The earthquakes included one major intensity tremor and a strong intensity tremor.
While no casualty was reported from anywhere in the State, people in Guwahati were seen running out of their offices, homes, educational institutions, markets, etc., after the first quake struck the city around 12.35 pm with a magnitude of 7.3 on the Richter Scale.
There have been reports of cracks appearing in a number of buildings and structures across the city, including a dent in the Chandmari Anundoram Borooah Flyover, cracks in the new building of the Gauhati High Court and in the building of a major mall.
�It was frightening. To experience such a situation twice in less than a month was quite scary. Though we have been trained to face such situations without losing our nerves, we were a little bit panic-stricken. All of us in our office ran out of the office building as soon as the first jolt was felt, taking the emergency door,� said Chiranjeev Saikia, a senior official at a private telecom major.
Significantly, his company has been trying its best to keep its employees and officers prepared to face disasters calmly through mock drills for the past three to four years as per the ISO certification rules, informed Chiranjeev Saikia.
Similar scenes were witnessed at other offices and educational institutions. At many schools, teachers and staff were seen escorting kids out of the school buildings.
�It was scary. We reside in a third floor apartment. When the earthquake came, our first concern was how to ensure that all of us in the family reach the ground safely. Thankfully, nobody was hurt,� said Sagarika Bezbaruah of New Guwahati Ganesh Mandir locality.
The Kamrup Metro district administration said that there have been no report of any casualty from anywhere in the city.
�However, Circle Officers of all five revenue circles have been directed to send building engineers and experts to inspect the structures which have been reported to have developed cracks under the impact of the earthquakes. However, it is too early to officially comment if the cracks in the Gauhati High Court building and in the Chandmari flyover are the results of today�s earthquakes. Experts have been directed to revisit the flyover and carry out another inspection,� said a senior district administration official.
He said the teams formed after last month�s devastating quake to check buildings, educational institutions and hospitals are still continuing their inspections.
