NEW DELHI, April 24, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck
India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh early Wednesday and was felt
in neighbouring Tibet.
The epicenter of the shallow quake was about 40 kilometres (25 miles)
southeast of Along, and 180 kilometres southwest of the state capital
Itanagar, according to the US Geological Survey.
It struck at 1:45 am (2015 GMT Tuesday). The USGS revised the magnitude
down from 6.1.
Arunachal Pradesh is India’s least densely populated state, but is still
home to more than 1.2 million people, according to the state government’s
website.
There were no reports of casualties or damage in neighbouring Tibet, with
Chinese national seismology authorities saying there were no villages within
20 kilometres of the earthquake or towns within a 50-kilometre radius.
New Delhi and Beijing for decades have disputed control of Arunachal
Pradesh — a dispute that remains unresolved.
India considers Arunachal Pradesh one of its northeastern states, while
China claims about 90,000 square kilometres (34,750 square miles) of the
territory.
Arunachal Pradesh also borders Myanmar and Bhutan.
USGS estimated there was a “low likelihood” of casualties and damage from
the quake.