Northeast India earthquake: 5.8 quake rattles Assam and Arunachal, epicenter in Udalguri

Shallow 5.8 quake jolts Assam and Arunachal; panic on streets, officials report no major damage

A magnitude 5.8 quake struck Northeast India at 4:41 pm IST on Sunday, September 14, 2025, with a shallow epicenter in Assam’s Udalguri district at roughly 5 km depth. The shaking came fast and hard, sending residents out of homes, shops, and offices across Udalguri, Sonitpur, Tamulpur, Nalbari, and beyond. In Guwahati, people rushed downstairs as buildings swayed and fixtures rattled. Western parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur also felt the jolt.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on X that the epicenter lay near Udalguri and that there were no immediate reports of major damage or loss of life. Authorities, he added, are watching the situation closely. In neighboring Arunachal Pradesh, Disaster Management Secretary Dani Sulu said the state had received no reports of structural damage or casualties and urged calm while teams continued their checks.

Early readings suggest the quake’s shallow depth amplified the shaking near the source, which explains the strong sensation felt by many despite a mid-range magnitude. A 5.8 is considered a moderate event in seismology, but when it hits at only a few kilometers below the surface, the energy reaches buildings and people more directly. That’s why residents in low- and mid-rise structures, especially older ones, felt an abrupt, jarring motion.

There were scattered reports of people stepping away from glass fronts and shelves as items trembled, and families gathered in open spaces until the shaking passed. Mobile networks saw brief congestion in pockets of Guwahati and Itanagar as calls spiked. By early evening, officials had not flagged any large-scale disruption to power, airports, or rail lines, though teams continued standard inspections of bridges and key corridors.

Seismologists will be looking for aftershocks. With quakes around this size, a sequence of smaller tremors is common over hours or days. Most aftershocks are minor, but they can be unsettling. If you’re near the epicentral area, staying alert is smart—especially around unsecured masonry, cracked parapets, or older non-ductile structures.

What makes this event stand out? The combination of magnitude, shallow depth, and population centers within reach. Assam’s plains and the foothills of Arunachal host a mix of masonry, concrete frames, and informal construction. Shaking intensity can vary widely street by street depending on local soil, building age, and design. Soft soils, like riverine sediments around the Brahmaputra, can amplify motion compared to hard rock foundations.

For context, this is a region built by collisions deep underground. The Indian plate is pushing into Eurasia, buckling the crust and throwing up the Himalaya. The Shillong Plateau and complex faults such as the Kopili fault system have a long record of earthquakes. On April 28, 2021, a magnitude 6.4 quake near Sonitpur rattled Assam and was linked by researchers to the Kopili system. Further back, the Northeast endured two of South Asia’s giants: the 1897 Shillong quake (around magnitude 8.1) and the 1950 Assam–Tibet earthquake (magnitude 8.6), one of the largest instrumentally recorded on Earth.

Today’s event sits well below those historic monsters, but it’s a reminder that this corner of India sits in seismic Zone V—the highest seismic risk category in the country’s zoning map. Building codes such as IS 1893 and IS 13920 lay out how to design for quakes, yet compliance and retrofitting remain uneven, especially in older neighborhoods. Every moderate quake becomes an informal audit: which buildings creaked, which developed hairline cracks, which stairwells felt safe, which didn’t.

Officials in Assam and Arunachal said they will continue rapid visual assessments through district disaster management authorities. Typical checks include bridges, hospitals, schools, water tanks, and transformers—any place where failure can cascade into wider harm. Residents are encouraged to report visible cracks in columns or beams, jammed doors in reinforced buildings, or leaning boundary walls. Photographs with timestamps help local teams prioritize.

Today’s shaking also arrives after a run of smaller tremors in the region through late August. On August 28, a magnitude 3.6 quake struck East Kameng in Arunachal Pradesh around 8:05 am at about 10 km depth (27.77°N, 93.12°E), with no reported damage. Days earlier, a 2.7 quake was recorded in Assam’s Karbi Anglong on August 23. And on August 21, a 3.5 tremor shook Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara. Low-magnitude quakes are common in tectonically active belts; they don’t automatically signal a larger event coming, but they underline how restless the crust is along the Himalaya arc.

What did people feel today? Residents in mid-rise apartments in Guwahati described a sudden lateral sway, enough to prompt a dash to stairwells. Shopkeepers in Itanagar stepped out as shelves clinked and signboards shook. In towns closer to Udalguri, the initial jolt was sharp, followed by a few seconds of rolling motion. That pattern fits a shallow source: a quick, high-frequency punch, then a softer tail.

Agencies will refine the numbers as more data comes in. The first magnitude and depth are based on rapid instrument readings; these can shift slightly after analysts review waveforms from more stations. Felt reports, which residents often submit through official channels or local authorities, help map where shaking was strongest and guide field checks.

If you’re wondering how a 5.8 stacks up: each whole-number step in magnitude (say 5.8 to 6.8) releases about 32 times more energy. So while a 5.8 is serious enough to crack brittle walls and dislodge poorly anchored objects, it’s typically not the level that topples modern, code-compliant buildings. The bigger risk comes from older masonry without reinforcement, heavy parapets, and decorative elements that aren’t tied back—those can fail even under moderate shaking.

The good news so far is the absence of confirmed major damage or casualties. But initial calm doesn’t excuse complacency. Small cracks can hide bigger issues. If you live in a building that felt unusually violent motion compared to neighbors, it’s worth asking your housing society or landlord for an engineer’s inspection. A basic structural check after notable shaking is like a medical exam—dull, necessary, and potentially life-saving.

Authorities also use these moments to test readiness. How quickly did sirens, PA systems, or emergency notifications reach people? Did schools follow drop-cover-hold? Were hospitals able to shift patients if needed? These are the drills that keep casualties low when a stronger quake does arrive.

As for why this event was felt so widely: the Brahmaputra valley’s sedimentary basin can channel and amplify waves, letting tremors travel far with less energy loss. That’s why districts beyond Udalguri—like Nalbari or Tamulpur—reported clear shaking even though they sit a good distance from the source. Add dense population pockets, and you get a lot of felt reports in a short time.

By evening, state disaster management teams in Assam and Arunachal were on routine watch for aftershocks. If a follow-up tremor arrives, expect it to be smaller. You may not feel many of them, especially if they’re deeper or located slightly away from towns. Still, it’s wise to secure tall furniture, keep a flashlight within reach, and know where your building’s safe spots are.

• What we know so far: magnitude 5.8 at 4:41 pm IST; shallow epicenter near Udalguri, Assam (depth ~5 km); tremors felt across Assam, western Arunachal Pradesh, and parts of Manipur.
• What officials say: no immediate reports of major damage or casualties; situation under active monitoring; district teams conducting visual inspections.
• What to expect next: possible aftershocks; data revisions as seismologists review waveforms; continued checks on critical infrastructure.

Preparedness isn’t a buzzword here—it’s day-to-day reality. Most of the Northeast sits in the country’s top seismic zone for a reason. A practical checklist helps more than any headline:

• Drop, Cover, Hold On during shaking. Stay away from windows and heavy cabinets.
• After the shaking stops, check for gas smells, electrical sparks, and water leaks. Don’t use elevators until cleared.
• Move to open areas if your building shows cracks in columns or beams. Report damage to local authorities or your housing society.
• Keep an emergency kit: water, basic meds, power bank, flashlight, copies of IDs. Store it where you can grab it fast.
• Anchor tall furniture, water heaters, and overhead storage. Small fixes prevent big injuries.
• Know your building’s assembly point and escape routes. Practice with family or colleagues.

Beyond the immediate response, the bigger conversation is about safer buildings. Retrofitting older masonry, enforcing ductile detailing in new concrete frames, and improving soil-structure assessments in riverine zones are not abstract goals—they’re checklists that decide how a city performs under stress. Every moderate quake is a chance to push that work along.

For now, the focus is on steady monitoring. State control rooms are in touch with district collectors. If you felt the quake and noticed damage—cracked stairwells, separated joints, or leaning walls—flag it locally. That’s how inspectors triage.

One last point: if your phone buzzes with aftershock alerts or messages from disaster authorities, treat them seriously. You don’t need to panic; you just need a plan. The Northeast India earthquake this afternoon may pass without serious harm, and that’s a relief. But the region’s geology isn’t changing. Our habits can.

Recent tremors, historic lessons, and what comes next

In late August, a string of minor quakes—3.6 in East Kameng on August 28 and 2.7 in Karbi Anglong on August 23—barely made a ripple in daily life. They’re reminders of continual strain building along faults from Arunachal to Meghalaya. The 2011 Sikkim earthquake (6.9) showed how even moderate-to-strong events can trigger landslides and disrupt hill roads. Today’s 5.8 was shallower and located in the plains, which likely reduced landslide risk but increased the swath of people who felt it.

Transport crews will keep an eye on bridges over the Brahmaputra and its tributaries, not because there’s confirmed damage, but because that’s what good protocol demands. Hospitals and schools will review evacuation steps. Housing societies will tally small repairs. This is the quiet work that prevents headlines later.

If you’re in Assam or Arunachal and the evening feels unsettled, that’s normal after a sudden jolt. Keep your phone charged, stay off rumor mills, and follow updates from state disaster authorities. Engineers and seismologists will firm up the numbers overnight. The earth moved. People responded. And, as of now, the systems held.