NEW DELHI: Late-night tremors on Tuesday shook north India and parts of Nepal as a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Himalayan region near Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh along the Nepal border, killing at least six people in Nepal and injuring five.
Panic-stricken Delhiites rushed out of their houses as the quake of slightly lower intensity of 5.7-magnitude also woke up the residents out of their sleep in various NCR cities. Authorities said they have no reports of causality or major loss in Delhi-NCR. Experts in Delhi, however, renewed their concern about skyscraper residential flats and unplanned urbanization that can lead to higher levels of destruction during powerful earthquakes.
As per an estimate, more than 60 lakh structures in Delhi-NCR do not conform to the safety norms. Buildings close to the rivers are more vulnerable to earthquakes, experts added. “Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurugram -- clusters of high-rises -- fall under Seismic Zone 4, which makes it the region vulnerable to quakes,” said Manoj Mishra of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan. A Noida Authority official said the realtors get required certificates for earthquake-proof structures.