Tremors in NCR as 4.6 magnitude quake hits Rohtak

Gurgaon: Tremors were felt in Delhi and NCR on Friday night after an earthquake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale hit Rohtak district.

No casualties or damage to properties have been reported so far. Officials said, earthquakes of less than five magnitude are unlikely to cause large-scale damage, unless in case of weak or compromised structures.

JL Gautam from the National Center for Seismology said the earthquake occurred at a depth of 5km and had its epicentre near Rohtak in Haryana. “The earthquake had a magnitude of 4.5 and occurred at 21:08:40 at a latitude of 28.8 N and longitude of 76.7 E,” said Gautam.

A Met official said this is the first medium-intensity earthquake in the spell, with several low-intensity earthquakes felt in both April and May. The epicentre, however, was not Delhi this time. “All four previous earthquakes had their epicentre in Delhi. This was a fair distance away from Delhi, therefore parts of Delhi-NCR only felt mild tremors,” added the official.

Many residents shared their experiences with TOI. “I was on my bed when I felt a sudden strong jolt and the glass doors were shaking. Being alone at home, I thought there was an intruder, only to realise later that it was an earthquake. Though it was only for a few seconds, the impact has literally left me shaken,” said Ruth Julia, a resident of Ramprastha City in Sector 37-D.

Suraj Wadhwa, a resident of Nirvana Country in Sector 50, said, “It was really a strong jolt. Everyone started running downstairs. We are scared now as this has started happening more frequently in Gurgaon. We waited around 30 minutes outside as we were not sure if it was safe to go back inside our homes.”

Many took to Twitter the minute they experienced the tremors. Rajesh Choudhary posted, “Scary, that 10-15 sec earthquake was really strong, strongest in recent times as others I didn’t feel it at all in Gurgaon... Is it end of the world.. pandemic, super cyclone, locust, Earthquake.(sic)”

Several low-intensity earthquakes have been hitting NCR since April. This is reportedly the seventh earthquake which shook the region in the last one month.

Large parts of Delhi, Haryana and Chandigarh fall in Zone-IV (severe)The region has also several fault lines, including Moradabad, Panipat and Sohna.