Kate and William caught up in earthquake: Royal couple are hit by shock waves in India after 7.0-magnitude tremor rocks Myanmar

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been caught up in a massive earthquake that rocked south-east Asia today, causing people to rush out of homes and buildings in panic.

The 7.0-magnitude quake struck Myanmar this afternoon, sending powerful shock waves across eastern India and Bangladesh.

The tremors were also felt around 500 miles away in India's Kaziranga National Park where Kate and William are staying in a riverside lodge on their tour of India. 

Royal rumble: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been caught up in an earthquake on their tour of India (pictured, the Royals taking a safari through Kaziranga National Park in east India this morning)

The earthquake which struck north-east India near the country's borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh downed power lines (pictured in Imphal)

British Deputy High Commissioner Scott Furssedonn-Wood, who was staying in the same jungle resort as the couple, said: 'We felt the tremor very strongly, but all is fine.'

Journalists covering the royal tour told of their terror after tremors rocked their hotel in Guwahati, around 300km from the national park.

The Daily Mail's Royal Correspondent Rebecca English said: 'The lobby of the hotel started swaying and the staff warned us to stand away from the check-in desk because of falling glass.

'The tremor got progressively worse. The floor started swaying and then staff urged us to run outside into the car park until they could access how severe it was going to be.

'The entire incident probably lasted only about a minute but was frightening.' 

She added: 'I have heard directly from members of the Royal Household in the Bhutanese capital of Thimpu who felt it there and understand that it was felt in Assam, where they couple are staying. 

'I am assured everyone is OK though.' 

The 7.0-magnitude quake struck at a depth of 84 miles, around 250 miles north of Myanmar's capital, Naypyidaw, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. 

Cracks line the front of a telecommuncations building in Imphal, India, after a 7.0-magnitude quake struck Myanmar this afternoon

The 7.0-magnitude quake struck at a depth of 84 miles, around 250 miles north of Myanmar's capital, Naypyidaw (pictured, damage in Imphal)

The tremors were felt around 500 miles away in India's Kaziranga National Park where Kate and William are staying in a riverside lodge on their tour of India

Five were killed in India, the government said, while three people died in Bangladesh (pictured, a damaged building in Imphal, India)

Residents in Myanmar's main city of Yangon panicked after the quake struck, but authorities there said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

An Associated Press journalist who was in a hospital in Yangon at the time of the quake said the six-story building shook strongly twice, for at least a minute. 

Many people in the hospital, including patients, staff and visitors, ran out of the building and began calling their loved ones. 

'I was sleeping on my bed when suddenly I felt the ground shaking,' said Aung Thu, 25, who has been spending nights at the hospital to take care of his elder brother.

'The first time it was intense, but the second time it was lighter.

'I had experienced this kind of earthquake before, so I was not that scared. But I was concerned because my brother is ill, and I need to take care of him.' 

He said he was on the third floor of the Shwegonedine Specialist Center hospital, and as soon as he felt the quake he called his wife and son to tell them to be 'prepared for the worst.' 

Residents in Myanmar's main city of Yangon panicked after the quake struck (pictured, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Assam, India today)

Tremors were felt around 500 miles away in India's Kaziranga National Park (pictured) where Kate and William are staying in a riverside lodge on their tour of India

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge watch villagers dance in Pan Bari Village, Assam, India, today 

The quake was centered in the jungle and hills around 137 miles northwest of Mandalay, Myanmar's second-biggest city. 

While the area is prone to earthquakes, it is generally sparsely populated and most houses are low-rise structures.

Hotel receptionist Ko Hein Htet, 23, told of cracks forming in buildings in the city of Monywa, 85 miles from Mandalay.

The tremors were felt in the eastern Indian states of Assam and West Bengal, including Kaziranga National Park, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited on their tour of India.

The royal couple are spending the night in the park area and are scheduled to leave for neighboring Bhutan on Thursday.  

A failure at a power station in eastern Assam caused outages in several parts of the state.

In Assam's capital, Gauhati, people rushed outdoors as they felt strong tremors and buildings swaying. 

Fear: People crowd onto the street in Agartala, the capital of India's northeastern state of Tripura, after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck northern Myanmar, with felt tremors felt for hundreds of miles around

A handout shakemap provided by the US Geological Survey shows the epicentre of the 7.0-magnitude earthquake (indicated by a star) in north-western Myanmar

Cellphone services were disrupted, and wall-mounted television sets crashed to the ground at a local TV station. Police said they were still assessing the situation.

Residents in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state, ran out of their homes in panic as the earthquake hit the region, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

People also reported feeling the quake in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, 484 kilometers (300 miles) from the epicentre.