The northern province of Dien Bien experienced an earthquake measuring a magnitude of 4.3 on the Richter scale on Thursday evening, a local seismic monitoring station reported.

>> 2 consecutive quakes hit Vietnam’s hydropower plant The quake happened at 7:44 pm yesterday and lasted for about three seconds, said Nguyen Thai Son, head of the Dien Bien Phu Seismic Observation Station.

The seismic intensity reached level 5 of the Medvedev-Sponheuer-Karnik (MSK-64) scale and no immediate report on damage was issued, Son said.

At such a level and duration of seismic activity, the quake will generally not have much impact on construction, houses, traffic systems or hydropower plants, he said.

However, the infrastructure of buildings or houses that are located near the epicenter may be cracked or fractured, he added.   

The quake’s epicenter was located at a depth of 9.5 km underground in Thanh Nua and Thanh Luong Communes in Dien Bien District and belonged to the Muong Lay-Dien Bien fault, the station said.

The quake is the strongest one that has hit the province since earlier this year, the station reported.

It is also the fifth quake that has occurred in the province so far this year, with seismic intensity getting stronger and stronger each time.

On May 20, 2014, a magnitude-3.9 quake happened in the province, the station said.  

In 2003, the province experienced only two quakes, it added.

Dien Bien is a province in northwestern Vietnam. It is bordered by Lai Chau and Son La Provinces (of Vietnam) to the east and south, China’s Yunnan Province to the north, and the Laotian province of Phongsaly to the west.

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