A powerful earthquake of 6.7 magnitude today hit the northeastern region of the country leaving cracks and damage in several buildings.

According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the epicentre of the quake was in Manipur. The quake took place at 4.35 AM at a depth of 17 km below the ground and the epicentre is located at Tamenglong district of Manipur.

The entire city of Imphal faces load shedding following the quake and cracks are also visible in several buildings. As per reports, one person has died while 30 others are severely injured in the quake.

Tremors were felt in the North Eastern and Eastern part of the country including in parts of Manipur, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland , Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. Tremors were also felt in some parts of Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan too.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is continuously monitoring the situation in the Northeast due to the earthquake. PM Modi spoke to Union home Minister Rajnath Singh, who is in Assam, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki.

He asked Rajnath Singh to oversee the situation.

Meanwhile, NDRF team has been instructed to move from Guwahati to the areas affected by the earthquake.

The region has a history of powerful earthquakes caused by the northward collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates. They are moving towards each other at a rate of 4-5cm per year.