Muong Te District in the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau was struck by a 4.4-magnitude earthquake early on Friday morning.
Nguyen Xuan Anh, director of the Institute of Geophysics (IGP) said that the earthquake occurred at 4:50 am on the morning of March 3 in Muong Te District with its epicentre located some 16 kilometres underground. Local residents could feel the tremors, but no losses have been reported.
Anh said that earthquakes often occur in Lai Chau because the province is located on a fault line. The largest earthquake of 6.8 magnitudes was reported in the province in 1983.
Recently on June 16, 2020, a 4.9-magnitude earthquake with its epicentre located some 12 kilometres underground hit Muong Te District. The incident injured four children at a local kindergarten and partially damaged 22 houses.
The IGP director has proposed deeper investigations and measurements of earthquakes in this area so as to properly advise on construction works and raise local people's awareness and skills to deal with the quakes.
Source: dtinews.vn, Tien Phong