A spate of four earthquakes struck parts of India, Myanmar and Tajikistan in rapid succession on Sunday (13 April) morning, triggering widespread alarm and prompting residents to flee buildings in fear across the region’s seismic hotspots.
The first tremor was recorded at 9am in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, where the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) logged a magnitude 3.4 quake at a shallow depth of just 5 kilometres.
The epicentre was pinpointed at 31.49°N, 76.94°E.
Though minor by seismic standards, the quake was strong enough to jolt residents.
Many reported a low, ominous rumble followed by a sharp jolt, prompting a swift exodus from homes and offices into the open. No casualties or structural damage have been reported thus far.
Shortly thereafter, a more powerful tremor shook central Myanmar.
The 5.5-magnitude quake, recorded near Meiktila, comes as an aftershock in the wake of the devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck on 28 March.
That earlier disaster claimed more than 3,600 lives and injured thousands across the country, leaving infrastructure in tatters.
In Inwa, on the outskirts of Mandalay, residents were seen clearing debris from a damaged Buddha statue at the Lawkatharaphu pagoda — a poignant symbol of the ongoing seismic turmoil.
Further tremors were also recorded in Tajikistan, although details of magnitude and impact remain pending official confirmation.
The cluster of earthquakes across such a wide geographic arc has reignited concerns over the volatile tectonic boundaries that traverse South and Central Asia — a region long familiar with the unpredictable fury of the Earth beneath.
