Massive EarthQuake Hits NE,India

The earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale,  which hit the east and north east (NE) region, was the biggest in 20 years, officials said.

Records of Central Seismological Observatory here showed increasing seismic activity in the region.

The epicentre of the earthquake lay in the Sikkim-Nepal border region. But it was felt widely, all the way from New Delhi to Mizoram.

However, there were some reports of minor damage in concrete houses in the region.

The Geological Survey of India had earlier notified that mountainous northeastern region could experience a devastating earthquake as the region, according to seismologists, falls in zone V, the sixth worst quake-prone belt in the world.

Initial analyses suggest the earthquake was complex, likely a result of two events occurring close together in time at depths of approximately 20 km beneath the Earth’s surface. At the latitude of the September 18 earthquake, the India plate converges with Eurasia at a rate of approximately 46 mm/yr towards the north-northeast. The broad convergence between these two plates has resulted in the uplift of the Himalayas, the world’s tallest mountain range. The preliminary focal mechanism of the earthquake

suggests strike slip faulting, and thus an intraplate source within the upper Eurasian plate or the underlying India plate, rather than occurring on the thrust interface plate boundary between the two.
This region has experienced relatively moderate seismicity in the past, with 18 earthquakes of M 5 or greater over the past 35 years within 100 km of the epicenter of the September 18 event. The largest of these was a M 6.1 earthquake in November of 1980, 75 km to the southeast.

UFO sighted in Manipur

IMPHAL, June 19 Believe it or not, mystery shrouded Ngankha Lawai village in Manipurs Bishnupur district, 35 kms south of here after a young farmer fainted and was hospitalised following an encounter with an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO).

The mysterious incident occurred when the 31 year-old farmer Koiremba Kumam was taking video of a fish farm near his house using his mobile phone on June 15 around 3.11 pm.

Suddenly, I captured mashak khangdaba potsak ama (UFO) in the sky, the farmer said. I fainted for a few seconds after a small round black object sped towards me.

Showing the video image of the UFO captured in his mobile phone, Koiremba claimed he felt an electric shock when it came come towards him. He returned home after few moments of unconsciousness.

The family took him to the nearby district hospital due to deterioration of his health and later referred to RIMS hospital in Imphal the following day. But he was discharged from the hospital the same evening after giving treatment as there was no symptom of any illness. However, Koiremba said he has not fully recovered.

A similar mystery shrouded Monsangei maning leikai village under Imphal West district in early part of last year when the villagers saw a bluish icy mass, weighing around five kilograms which fell on the tin-roofed kitchen of one Sougrakpam Jugeshwar of the locality with a sudden bang from the sky.

Lok Sabha MP Dr Thokchom Meinya, who is also an astronomer, reacting to the descriptions given by the onlookers, had opined that the mass might have been accidentally ejected from the support system of a rocket or a space craft.

(source NE Blogger on June 20, 2011)