Strong quake rocks remote Bhutan: USGS

Breitbart (Link) (September 21, 2009)

A strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan and northeast India on Monday, the US Geological Survey said, with tremors felt in nearby Bangladesh and China.

According to the USGS, the epicentre was located just inside Bhutan's border with India, 180 kilometres (115 miles) east of the Bhutanese capital Thimpu, at a shallow depth of 7.2 kilometres.

There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage. The Indian Meteorological Department said the epicentre was in a remote, sparsely populated area

Strong tremors lasting up to 20 seconds were felt 125 kilometres away in Guwahati, the capital of India's northeastern state of Assam, where nervous residents ran into the streets.

Cracks appeared in several buildings in the city but there was no serious damage, witnesses said.

The tremors were also felt in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka and in Lhasa, the capital of the Chinese region of Tibet, according to Chinese state media.