Medium intensity earthquake hits near Rohtak in Haryana, tremors felt in Delhi & NCR
by Jasjeev GandhiokNEW DELHI: A medium intensity earthquake of 4.5 magnitude hit near Rohtak in Haryana on Friday, tremors of which were felt in Delhi and national capital region, the National Centre for Seismology said.
Delhi and NCR felt tremors for the fifth time since April 12 on Friday evening, however this was the strongest of the five earthquakes.
There was no initial damage to any property, or loss of life, however there were instances of several people rushing out of their homes and buildings after the tremors which occurred at 9:08 pm.
J.L Gautam from NCS said the earthquake occurred at a depth of 5 km 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,” said the official.
All four of Delhi’s previous earthquakes, which first began on April 12 have been 3.5 on the Richter scale or less, with the latest being only 2.2 on the Richter scale.
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 Delhi, Haryana and Chandigarh however fall in Zone-IV (severe), making them prone to earthquakes. The region has also several fault lines like Moradabad, Panipat and Sohna faults.
The first earthquake recorded out of the five was on April 12, measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale. The earthquake had its epicentre at Sonia Vihar in east Delhi. The following day, another earthquake measuring 2.7 magnitude hit Delhi, with the epicentre in the same area.
The third earthquake which struck Delhi NCR on May 10 measured 3.4 on the Richter scale and had its epicentre near the Delhi-UP border, while the latest had been 2.2 only on May 15 with its epicentre near Pitampura in Delhi.