Another earthquake hits Vietnam’s Dien Bien

Nguyen Xuan Anh, director of the Vietnam Earthquake Information and Tsunami Warning Center under the Institute of Earth Sciences, said the magnitude-4.0 quake occurred at 2:16 pm with a focal depth of about 10 kilometers.

The center classified the disaster risk level as zero and is monitoring seismic activity in the area.

According to the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, the quake caused mild tremors in Dien Bien but there have been no reports of damage.

Officials consulted with the provincial disaster management office and technical staff from the Son La and Lai Chau hydropower plants to assess any potential impacts.

The operator of Lai Chau Hydropower Plant, located about 80 kilometers from the epicenter, reported no abnormalities and confirmed that its structures were unaffected.

Bui Van Kieu, a local official in central Muong Cha District, near the epicenter, described the tremor as the strongest he had ever felt.

“The shaking was intense, and many household items fell to the ground,” he said.

Local authorities have asked residential areas to report any impacts, but so far no damage has been recorded.

In Vietnam, earthquakes with magnitudes between 4.0 and 4.9 are considered light. Such quakes typically cause indoor objects to shake or fall and may be felt by people both indoors and outdoors, but rarely cause significant damage.

Quakes measuring between 5.0 and 5.9 are considered moderate and may cause structural damage to poorly built buildings or, in rare cases, lead to fatalities depending on specific conditions.

Dien Bien Province is located in Vietnam’s northwestern region, where two major seismic fault lines, including the Dien Bien–Lai Chau and the Ma River–Son La faults, make the area prone to frequent earthquakes.

This mountainous province has experienced several strong quakes in the past, including a magnitude-6.9 tremor in 1935, a magnitude-6.7 quake in Tuan Giao Town in 1983, a magnitude-5.3 quake in Dien Bien Phu City in 2001 that caused an estimated VND210 billion (US$8 million) in damages, and more recent quakes in 2019 and 2022.