Aizawl: An earthquake of 4.2 magnitude hit Mizoram's Champhai district on Friday, the ninth quake to rock the state in the last one month, officials said.

No loss of life and property was reported, they said.

The earthquake occurred at 3.56 pm and its epicentre was 33 km south-southwest of Champhai, according to the National Centre for Seismology.

The depth of the quake was 10 km, it said.

The tremors were felt in several villages along the Mizoram-Myanmar border, Champhai District Deputy Commissioner Maria C T Zuali told PTI.

The state has witnessed a series of quakes ranging from 4.2 to 5.5 magnitude in the last one month.

On July 10, Chief Minister Zoramthanga had asked the Centre to send seismologists or geophysicists from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to assess the ground situation and ascertain the cause of the quakes in the state.

A series of eight medium intensity quakes on Friday

Five medium-intensity earthquakes hit the Andaman and Nicobar islands, while three quakes rocked the northeastern state of Mizoram on Friday, the National Centre for Seismology said.

Four of the quakes of over 4.5 magnitude occurred within a span of nearly five hours.

According to the NCS, an earthquake of 4.8 magnitude occurred at 10.31am and the epicentre was 250-km east of Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar islands. The depth of the earthquake was 10 km, it said.

Another quake of 5.1 magnitude hit the archipelago at 6.59 pm at a depth of 62 kilometres. The third earthquake of 5.6 magnitude occurred at 7.33 pm at a depth of 10 kms, the NCS said. 

The fourth quake of 5 magnitude occurred at 8.12 pm at a depth of 185 kms, it said, adding, the fifth quake of magnitude 4.5 hit at 11.15 pm at a depth of 10 kms.

The northeast and the Andaman and Nicobar islands are high-seismic zones.

J L Gautam, Head (Operations) of the NCS, said it is not unusual for the Andaman and Nicobar islands to witness high tremors in a short span of time. Last year, 50 tremors were recorded within 2-3 days, he added.

An earthquake of 4.2 magnitude also occurred in Mizoram's Champhai district at 3.56 pm, the NCS said.

Two more quakes of magnitudes 5.1 and 3.7 occurred at 10.03 pm and 10.35 pm respectively in the northeastern state, it added.

(With inputs from PTI)

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