Although the tremors lasted less than half a minute, they caused significant panic among the local residents.
At 7:34 PM on May 15, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.7 on the Richter scale struck Thừa Thiên Huế.
The earthquake lasted approximately 3-5 seconds, causing many household items to fall to the ground, with some homes even experiencing fallen televisions. The low-lying areas in A Lưới District, such as Hồng Thượng, Hồng Kim, and the town of A Lưới, felt the tremors most acutely, leading to widespread panic among residents. Areas within the city of Huế, as well as Cam Lộ District in Quảng Trị Province, also experienced shaking due to the earthquake. This was the first recorded earthquake in A Lưới District, leaving local authorities unsure of how to respond.
Location of the earthquake in A Lưới – (Image from the Earthquake Information and Tsunami Warning Center)
In an interview, Associate Professor and Dr. Nguyễn Hồng Phương, Director of the Earthquake Information and Tsunami Warning Center at the Institute of Geophysics, stated that the earthquake occurred at coordinates 16.32° North latitude and 107.37° East longitude, with a focal depth of approximately 10 kilometers, affecting A Lưới District:
“The Institute of Geophysics has reported all necessary parameters of this earthquake: a magnitude of 4.7 in the area of A Lưới town, at a depth of about 10 kilometers, causing shaking levels of 5 to 6 on the MSK scale at the epicenter.”
Dr. Nguyễn Hồng Phương noted that A Lưới is not a region known for frequent or strong earthquakes. He also confirmed that this earthquake is unrelated to the A Lưới and Bình Điền hydropower plants, and that the Earthquake Information and Tsunami Warning Center will continue to monitor this seismic event.
