On the morning of August 9, a leader of Thuc Phan Ward confirmed to VietNamNet that an earthquake had struck the area at 2:39am the same day.

“The earthquake lasted for about 10 seconds. Residents felt the ground shaking and heard an explosive sound,” the Thuc Phan Ward official said.

A resident of Thuc Phan Ward also confirmed to VietNamNet that they clearly felt the tremors at the time, while security camera footage captured the shaking.

The early-morning earthquake caused tremors across several communes and wards in Cao Bang Province. Speaking to VietNamNet, Dam The Trang, Chairman of the Hoa An Commune People’s Committee, said a fairly strong tremor was felt in Hoa An and neighboring communes at around 2:39am.

“So far, Hoa An Commune has recorded no casualties or property damage following the earthquake,” Trang said.

This was the fourth earthquake recorded in Cao Bang Province within the past two weeks.

Most recently, on the afternoon of August 3, many residents in Bao Lac Commune heard an explosive sound coming from underground before feeling their homes shake for several seconds.

According to the Earthquake Information and Tsunami Warning Center under the Institute of Earth Sciences, the earthquake occurred at 3:19pm, with a magnitude of 3.2 and a focal depth of approximately 16.8km. Its natural disaster risk level was assessed at zero.

Earlier, at 9:44am on July 30, a magnitude-3.6 earthquake struck Bao Lac Commune. At 8:51pm on August 1, another magnitude-3.2 earthquake was recorded in Hung Dao Commune, about 25km from the epicenter of the previous quake.

Thuc Phan Ward was established through the merger of five administrative units in their entirety: Song Hien, De Tham and Hop Giang wards and Hung Dao Commune in Cao Bang City, along with Hoang Tung Commune in Hoa An District.

Thuc Phan Ward covers a natural area of 55.44 square kilometers and has a population of more than 41,000. It is home to Cao Bang Province’s administrative center and has the largest population of any commune or ward in the province.

Duc Phong