DienBien (VNA) - A 4.3-magnitude earthquake hit the northwesternprovince of Dien Bien at 6:21am on January 9, the second one recorded this yearand also the second within just two days.
The earthquake’s centre was at a depth of 10kmin Muong Ang district, with shocks lasting about four seconds, said Nguyen ThaiSon, head of the Dien Bien Phu City’s Seismic Monitoring Station.
Residents in Muong Thanh and Muong Angdistricts, Dien Bien Phu city, said they clearly felt tremors. However, thereis yet any report on damage on houses or buildings.
Just one day earlier, on January 8, a3.9-magnitude earthquake hit the province about more than 10km from Muong Angdistrict.
Last year, Dien Bien province was struck byseven earthquakes in different areas in districts of Dien Bien, Muong Cha, DienBien Dong, Tuan Giao and Tua Chau and Muong Lay township with the magnituderanging from 2.1 to 3.9 on the Richter scale.
According to Son, quakes are normal in themountainous province of Dien Bien as it is situated on the fault systems ofDien Bien – Lai Chau and Song Ma – Son La.
Over the past 100 years, three big earthquakeswith magnitudes of over 5 on the Richter scale were recorded in Dien Bien, onein 1935 (magnitude of 6.9), another in 1983 (magnitude of 6.7) and the latestin 2001 (magnitude of 5.3).-VNA