Gangtok: A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck the Gyalshing area of West Sikkim in the early hours of Thursday, February 6, triggering more than a dozen aftershocks within the next four and a half hours, according to data released by the National Centre for Seismology (NCS).
The earthquake occurred at 1:09:27 am IST. Its epicentre was located at latitude 27.31°N and longitude 88.18°E, at a depth of 10 km. The epicentre lies around 6 km west of Pelling in Sikkim, about 31 km north-northwest of Darjeeling in West Bengal, and approximately 42 km west of Gangtok. Tremors were also felt in Siliguri, Thimphu, and parts of north Bengal.
According to the NCS, at least 12 aftershocks were recorded within four hours and 30 minutes of the main tremor. The aftershocks ranged in magnitude from 2.2 to 4.0 and were observed mainly eastward of the main epicentre.
The earthquake occurred along the Teesta Fault, one of the major fault systems in the Sikkim–Darjeeling Himalayan region. The area is considered highly earthquake-prone as it lies in a zone where the Indian tectonic plate continues to push beneath the Eurasian plate, generating stress along several fault lines across the region.
Sikkim falls within a high seismic zone due to the presence of multiple active fault and lineament systems, including those along the Teesta river valley and the central Himalayan belt. The February 6 earthquake occurred south of the epicentral region of the 2011 Sikkim earthquake, which measured magnitude 6.9.
According to the NCS, felt reports indicate a maximum intensity of VI on the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale in areas close to the epicentre. Light shaking of intensity II was reported from locations up to 250 km away.
The latest tremor follows recent seismic activity in the region. A magnitude 3.9 earthquake was recorded on January 3, 2026, about 13 km southeast of the present epicentre and was felt with moderate to strong intensity. Another earthquake of magnitude 3.3 occurred on December 24, 2025, approximately 33 km east of the current epicentre and was felt with slight to moderate intensity.
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Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) data recorded by seismic stations showed the highest ground shaking at Gangtok, where a value of 0.0032 g was recorded at a distance of 41 km from the epicentre.
Lower PGA values were recorded at Cooch Behar (0.0008 g), located about 170 km away, and Sitamarhi (0.0001 g), approximately 295 km from the epicentre.
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