Guwahati, June 8: A 5.8-magnitude earthquake centred in Bhutan shook large parts of Assam and the Northeast late Sunday night, triggering brief panic among residents but causing no reported casualties or damage, according to preliminary assessments by district authorities.
The earthquake struck at 11:06:43 pm on June 7 and had its epicentre in Bhutan at a depth of 26 km, according to the India Meteorological Department’s Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Borjhar. The epicentre was located about 120 km east-northeast of Gangtok, 247 km northwest of Guwahati, 307 km north of Shillong and 581 km north-northeast of Kolkata.
Strong tremors were felt in Guwahati and several districts bordering Bhutan, prompting many residents to rush outdoors as buildings swayed for a few seconds.
The quake also served as a reminder of the Northeast’s high seismic vulnerability. Under the revised Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) seismic zonation map introduced with IS 1893:2025, much of Northeast India falls within the newly designated Seismic Zone VI, the highest earthquake-risk category, reflecting the region’s location along one of the world’s most active tectonic regions. The BIS later withdrew the seismic code after the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and other stakeholders pointed to escalation in construction costs by 10% to 15% for residential and commercial buildings in high-risk zones, and by up to 50% for major infrastructure projects.
According to an updated preliminary report compiled from districts bordering Bhutan and areas closest to the epicentre, authorities had not received any reports of casualties or damage till 12:15 am on Monday.
District Emergency Operation Centres in Bajali, Baksa, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Dhubri, Nalbari, South Salmara and Tamulpur reported no damage due to the earthquake. Officials in Kamrup and Kamrup Metro also said no reports of damage had been received from the field.
In Goalpara and Kokrajhar, where the tremors were distinctly felt, district authorities alerted field functionaries and monitored the situation. However, no casualties or structural damage had been reported from either district by the time of filing the preliminary assessment.
Authorities in Udalguri also said they had not received any information regarding damage following the earthquake.
State disaster management officials said monitoring was continuing across affected districts and further assessments would be carried out through the night and early morning to determine whether any delayed reports of damage emerge.
Assam and the wider Northeast region have a long history of major earthquakes and are among the most seismically active areas in the country due to the ongoing collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
