4.1 magnitude earthquake hits Dien Bien province

The quake occurred at 19:49 on February 9 with its centre at a depth of 10 kilometres and shocks lasting about 3 seconds, said Nguyen Thai Son, head of the National Seismic Observation Station of the Institute of Geophysics in Dien Bien.

As the intensity of the quake is rather strong, residents in Dien Bien Phu city, especially in Dien Bien Dong district, can feel the tremors which rattled houses and other furniture, according to Son.

This is the sixth earthquake has hit in the province so far this year. 

Earlier, five earthquakes with magnitude from 2.5 to 4.3 on the Richter scale were recorded in Dien Bien Dong and Muong Ang district and border areas between Vietnam and Laos (7-8 kilometres from Muong Nhe district) on January 8, January 9 and February 2. 

Last year, Dien Bien province was struck by seven earthquakes in different areas in the districts of Dien Bien, Muong Cha, Dien Bien Dong, Tuan Giao and Tua Chua and Muong Lay township with the magnitude ranging from 2.1 to 3.9 on the Richter scale.

According to Son, quakes are normal in the mountainous province of Dien Bien as it is situated on the fault systems of Dien Bien – Lai Chau and Song Ma – Son La.

Over the past 100 years, three big earthquakes with magnitudes of over 5 on the Richter scale were recorded in Dien Bien, one in 1935 (magnitude of 6.9), another in 1983 (magnitude of 6.7) and the latest in 2001 (magnitude of 5.3).