The 2009 Bhutan earthquake occurred on 21 September at 14:53 BTT (08:53 UTC) in the eastern region of

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

with moment magnitude of 6.1. The epicenter was situated at east of the capital Thimphu, in Monggar District.USGS profile
.

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

. However,

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and northern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

also felt it, with residents in

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

reporting cracks in buildings. The tremors were felt as far as

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

. At least eleven people are reported to have been killed—seven in Bhutan, four in India. The death toll, initially ten, increased when one more died in the night.Bhutan hit by strong earthquake
September 21, 2009.

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. At least fifteen were wounded. Many of the deaths in Bhutan came about when their houses fell in on top of them. The Indians were construction workers whose road fell through. At least 5,167 homes and buildings were damaged or destroyed. One businessman said the earthquake happened as shopping was underway for the Blessed Rainy Day ceremony of

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. Another inhabitant said it "made the surrounding hills look like they were throwing up dust" and that "the road was suddenly filled with boulders and mud". Thousands are living outdoors as a result. Children were crushed under structures as they caved in. Roads were blocked but these were cleaned up relatively quickly. Monasteries were also struck. People ran for their lives out of their homes.

Aftershocks

There were at least seven aftershocks. An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale was heard in

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

and the northeast

n states of

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and la ...

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...

and

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

and the following day.

Reaction

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Jigme Thinley said the earthquake was "one of the biggest disasters in recent times". He also said the length of the earthquake (95 seconds) was "very long". He and his home minister embarked on a visit to the region.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhutan Earthquake, 2009 2009 earthquakes 2009 in Bhutan Earthquakes in Asia Natural disasters in Bhutan September 2009 in Asia 2009 disasters in India Earthquakes in India

Aftershocks

Reaction

References

Further reading

External links