High-rise buildings in Hanoi shook as a 5.3-magnitude earthquake hit the northern province of Son La at around 12:14pm on July 27, local media reported.

Satellite image of Moc Chau District, where the earthquake occurred. Photo: The Institute of Geophysics

The earthquake occurred in Moc Chau district with its epicenter at a depth of 14 kilometers. The second tremor measuring 3.0 hit Moc Chau district at 12:39pm yesterday. This was the strongest earthquake from the beginning of 2020.

Though its epicenter was about 200km from Hanoi’s downtown, the tremor shook high-rise buildings in Hanoi’s downtown and caused panic among local residents.

Dr. Nguyen Hong Phuong, deputy director of the Earthquake and Tsunami Warning Center under the Institute of Geophysics confirmed that high-rise buildings in Hanoi wobbled because of the earthquake.

Currently, experts from the Institute of Geophysics have been consolidating the data to get the most detailed information about the earthquake, Phuong said.

Director of the Institute of Geophysics Nguyen Xuan Anh told VnExpress that there are usually few aftershocks after an earthquake. Citizens will feel different shaking levels depending on grounds in different areas.

Earlier, according to the Earthquake and Tsunami Warning Center, on July 1, a 2.6-magnitude earthquake struck Hoanh Bo district in Quang Ninh with its epicenter at a depth of 8.1 kilometers and zero disaster risk.