NEW DELHI: Panic triggered among people in the Delhi-NCR after a medium intensity earthquake of magnitude 4.7 struck on Friday evening around 7 pm. According to the National Centre for Seismology, the epicentre of the earthquake was Alwar district in Rajasthan whose tremors were also felt in parts of north India. The quake occurred at a depth of 35 kilometres.
There were no immediate reports of loss of life or property. The Delhi-NCR has been identified as the second highest seismic hazard zone (Zone IV). The Delhi-NCR has experienced over a dozen earthquakes in the past three months. Of these tremors, the May 29 Rohtak earthquake had the magnitude of 4.6.
The previous earthquake was on June 8 whose epicentre was 13 kms away from Gurugram. Since April, Delhi and nearby areas have recorded 13 earthquakes of low and medium intensity: April 12 - Delhi (3.5); April 13-Delhi (2.7); April 16 - Delhi (2); May 3 - Delhi (3); May 6 - Faridabad (2.3), May 10 - Delhi (3.4); May 15 - Delhi (2.2), May 28 - Faridabad (2.5); May 29 - Rohtak (4.5 and 2.9); June 1 - Rohtak (1.8 and 3) and June 3 - Faridabad (3.2).
According to experts, the reason behind the small earthquakes is that the Himalayan plate is moving in the north-northeast direction, thereby releasing a lot of energy along the weak zones through fissures and lineaments. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “Mild earthquake tremors were felt in Delhi some time ago. Hope you are all safe, take care of yourself.”