An earthquake of magnitude 4.5 struck Dien Bien Dong District in Vietnam’s northern mountainous province of Dien Bien on Monday morning, according to the Institute of Geophysics.

The quake hit at a depth of 13.2 kilometers at 9:22 am on the day, said Dr. Nguyen Xuan Anh, director of the institute.

“That [Dien Bien Dong] is an area that regularly experiences earthquakes because two large seismic faults, namely Dien Bien - Lai Chau and Song Ma - Son La, are located there,” Anh explained, adding that the Institute of Geophysics is continuing to monitor the tremor.

Vang A Po, chairman of Phinh Giang Commune in Dien Bien Dong District, said that the earthquake lasted about two minutes, causing furniture to shake, and was followed by aftershocks.

People living in Dien Bien Phu City, some 50 kilometers away from the epicenter of the quake, and adjacent districts in Son La Province also felt the vibration.

No injuries were immediately reported after the quake, according to Po, while village leaders were tasked with checking for damage.

In the past, four earthquakes occurred in Dien Bien, including one of magnitude 6.9 in 1935, one of magnitude 6.7 in 1983, one of magnitude 5.3 in 2001, and the other of magnitude 4.3 in 2019.

Notably, the magnitude-5.3 earthquake in 2001 caused about VND210 billion (US$9.17 million) in damage as it destroyed many public works and citizens’ properties. 

Dien Bien is located some 450 kilometers west of Hanoi.

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