Assessment on the impact of the Tripura earthquake (January 3, 2017, mw = 5.6) in Northeast India

Abstract

The northeastern part of the Indian subcontinent, considered as the most active seismic zone of the Indian subcontinent, was hit by an earthquake of Mw 5.6 on January 3, 2017. The epicenter of this earthquake was Kanchanbari located in the Dhalai district of Tripura. The present study aims to assess the environmental and socio-economic impact of this earthquake in the vicinity of the epicenter. To assess and determine the level of damage, the affected areas were visited during the first week of the 2017 earthquake. Various Government offices were also consulted to acquire data on damages caused by the earthquake. Moreover, Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System (RS & GIS) techniques were applied to address the influence of this earthquake on bank erosion. During the field visit, the striking features of soil liquefaction generated by the earthquake were observed in the flood plain area of the Manu River. Landslide, with three casualties in India and the neighbor Bangladesh, and damages of infrastructure were also reported. Additionally, an assessment of the bank erosion study revealed that the rate of the post-earthquake bank erosion increased to 592%, compared to the pre-earthquake bank erosion within the study length of the Manu River. The findings highlighted that the impact of this earthquake is minimal. However, the seismotectonic features and observation of the liquefaction within the risk zone of the earthquake indicate a possible significant threat for the future.