Residents across Delhi-NCR were shaken on early Wednesday morning by tremors from a magnitude 6.3 earthquake epicentred in western Nepal with some people walking out of their buildings even as authorities confirmed no loss of life or property in the region.
According to the National Center for Seismology (NCS), the epicenter of the quake that struck at 1.57am on Wednesday was located near Dipayal Silgadhi in Doti district of western Nepal — about 90 km east-southeast of Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand. Local Nepalese authorities confirmed six deaths of residents in Doti district, PTI reported.
“I hope all of you are safe,” tweeted Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted on Wednesday morning.
A Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) official said that no calls regarding any damage were reported at the emergency operation center helplines (1070,1077). However, routine checks were carried out by their teams across the capital.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi said no calls were received regarding any damage to public or private property. “No structural damage or any incidents were reported,” said an MCD official who asked not to be named.
People posted messages on social media soon after the tremors were felt. Shweta Rawat, 27, a resident of RK Puram said she was scrolling through social media when she felt her bed vibrating. “It took me a second or two to realize what was happening and I immediately got out of the bed and went to the corner of the room. I got to know about the quake from the messages on the social media,” she said.
Others said the tremors were so strong that they woke up. “I woke up with a jolt and realized my bed was moving. My husband and I quickly decided to head downstairs and had to stand outside for at least five minutes before going back,” said Anita Kalra, who lives in a first floor flat in Mayur Vihar Phase-1.
The Bureau of Indian Standards has classified the entire country into four seismic groups – ranging from zone II (low intensity) to zone V (very severe). Large parts of National Capital Region (NCR), including Delhi and Haryana fall in Zone-IV (severe), indicating high vulnerability to earthquakes.
Subodh Sharma, an electrical engineer, who lives on the 12th floor of a high-rise society in Moti Nagar and was awake when the tremors hit, said he first saw his fan shake violently before realizing that a number of objects in the house were vibrating . “The impact of earthquake at such a height is even more intense and at the time, I simply did not understand what to do. I tried going down a couple of floors and saw people from other floors quickly exiting their flats. I am glad the earthquake caused no damage,” he said.
Amar Gupta, a resident at Palm green apartments in Dwarka Sector 11, woke up due to vibrations caused by the quake, and added that they were so strong that some items in his room fell down. “A candle stand fell and my wife and I woke up. We felt the bed move and we took cover underneath the dining table. Sleeping again took a lot of time as the experience was shocking,” said Gupta.
Tremors were last felt in Delhi on October 19, when an earthquake with 5.1 magnitude on the Richter Scale hit Nepal. On August 20, a 4.9 magnitude earthquake with its epicenter northwest of Lucknow also led to tremors in the national capital.