VietNamNet Bridge - A 4.7-magnitude earthquake occurred on Thursday night in A Luoi district of the central province of Thua Thien Hue.

The quake-striken area (blue star). Photo by the Vietnam Geophysics Institute.

The Vietnam Geophysics Institute said the quake occurred at 7.34pm, at the focal depth of about 10km. The earthquake caused vibration at levels 5-6 in the epi-central area. Given this scale of vibration, many people would feel the strong vibration or the house and furniture. Hanging objects would swing considerably. Ceramic items could be broken and pet would feel uncomfortable.

Thua Thien Hue Online quoted Mr. Ho Xuan Trang, Chairman of A Luoi District, as saying that the 30-second quake caused local residents panicked and forced them to ran out of their houses.

"This was the first time the phenomenon occurred in A Luoi so we were embarrassed in response to minimize loss of life and property if the vibration continued with greater intensity," he said.

Not only A Luoi but Hue City, Huong Thuy town and Phu Vang district recorded slight vibration. There has been no damage reported so far.

On Friday morning, the Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention of Thua Thien Hue made a survey of the impact of the earthquake.

In recent years quakes occurred very often in the central region from Nghe An to Thua Thien Hue. According to experts, the reason is that these provinces lie on the fault zone of the Gianh River.

On April 3, an earthquake of 3.4 magnitude was recorded in the area of Song Tranh 2 in Bac Tra My district of the central province of Quang Nam, at a focal depth of about 5km.

Na Son