NEW DELHI: An earthquake of 4.0 magnitude rocked parts of Delhi-NCR early on Monday, causing widespread panic among residents.
The epicentre was located near Dhaula Kuan, a bustling area in the city, sending vibrations through buildings and rattling nerves. The shaking produced sounds reminiscent of a high-speed vehicle passing underneath, alarming those still asleep.
There were no immediate reports of any damage or injuries. The earthquake, with its epicentre in New Delhi, struck at a depth of five kilometres at 5:36 am, the National Center for Seismology said in a post on X.
Hours later, an earthquake of 4.0 magnitude was reported in Bihar at around 8.27 am.
According to the National Centre of Seismology, the epicentre of the quake which originated from just 10 km under the earth's surface, was in Bihar’s Siwan district.
No damage or casualties have been reported from Bihar so far.
In Delhi, the tremors caused people to rush out of their homes in fear.
"It felt like the ground was moving beneath me," said Devendra Singh, a resident of central Delhi.
"I couldn't believe it was an earthquake," he added.
The tremor was also felt across various parts of the city, including South Delhi, East Delhi, and parts of Noida.
Mohan Kumar, a doctor residing in Mayur Vihar Phase 1, shared his terrifying experience: "My wife and I were so scared that she began shivering in fear. We both rushed outside immediately."
Hundreds of mild tremors have been reported in a radius of up to 50 km of Dhaula Kuan. The last time was in 2007 when an earthquake of 4.6 M hit the area, 6 km away from the current epicentre.
"Shallow seismic reverberation due to interactions among shallow rock materials, stones, and pebbles generates sound waves and propagates to a long distance in the air causing rumbling sound as the subsurface generated noise,” Dr O P Mishra, Director of NCS, told this newspaper.
According to NCS, in the 50 km radius of Dhaula Kuan, 421 earthquake tremors have been reported, with tremors up to 4.6 M.
Mishra explained the quake resulted from "the presence of water channels like a perennial lake or river stream, which got trapped over a period of time, causing hydro-fracturing of rocks."
Today’s silver lining was the infrastructure around Dhaula Kuan escaping damages. Major public infrastructure like metro lines and stations, big hotels, flyovers, airports, and public and government buildings in the area remained functional.
"It shows that the infrastructure there is earthquake resilient," said Mishra.
The earthquake however disrupted Delhi Metro and Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) operations.
The first Namo Bharat train, which was supposed to depart from Meerut South for New Delhi at 6 am on Monday, was held up due to the quake.
At exactly 6:57 am, RRTS announced that a train would depart from Meerut South at 7 am for New Ashok Nagar. The announcements stated that operations were delayed due to technical issues.
Similarly, DMRC also faced disruptions. Commuters travelling by metro faced significant problems. Between 6 and 7 am, majority of trains were operating at snail’s pace.
Social media remained abuzz with commuters’ complaints as they expressed frustration over the delay: "Too much digging into earth’s crust is causing earthquakes in Delhi.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X, "Tremors were felt in Delhi and nearby areas. Urging everyone to stay calm and follow safety precautions, staying alert for possible aftershocks. Authorities are keeping a close watch on the situation."
In a post on X, The Delhi Police said, "We hope you all are safe, Delhi!" It also urged citizens to call on the emergency 112 helpline for emergencies.
AAP leader Atishi said on X, "A strong earthquake just hit Delhi. I pray to God that everyone is safe."
Resharing Atishi's post, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal said, "I pray for safety of everyone."
"Massive tremors were felt 10 minutes back in Delhi, woke us up from sleep. I hope and pray everyone is safe and sound," AICC national spokesperson Ragini Nayak said in a post on X.
The National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi is located about 250 kilometres from the seismically-active Himalayan collision zone and frequently experiences far- and near-field shaking due to Himalayan and local sources, respectively.
A 3.5-magnitude quake on April 12, 2020 and a 3.4-magnitude one on May 10, 2020, in northeast Delhi and a 4.4-magnitude earthquake on May 29, 2020, near Rohtak (about 50 kilometres west of Delhi), followed by more than a dozen aftershocks, sparked panic in the densely populated habitat.
Delhi is placed in Seismic Zone IV in the seismic zoning map of India.
This intraplate region is exposed to moderate to high risk due to Himalayan earthquakes.
(With inputs from PTI)