Delhi Earthquake: How Residents Woke Up To Strong Tremors And Panic

Earthquake in Delhi: Delhi-NCR woke up to a strong Earthquake in the early hours on Monday after tremors were felt in Noida, Greater Noida, Gurugram, Faridabad and adjoining areas. The 4.0 magnitude earthquake hit the Delhi-NCR region at around 5:36 AM as people woke upto to strong tremors. According to National Centre of Seismology, the epicentre of the earthquake was in New Delhi near Durgabai Deshmukh College of Special Education in Dhaula Kuan.

A vendor at the New Delhi railway station, who experienced the early morning tremors in Delhi said, “Everything was shaking...customers started screaming...”

A passenger awaiting his train at New Delhi railway station said, “We felt as if any train was running here underground... Everything was shaking.” 

A resident of Ghaziabad who felt the early morning earthquake said, “Tremors were so strong. I have never felt like this ever before. The entire building was shaking...”

According to PTI, a woman in her 50s who was out on a morning walk in E Block of Noida Sector 20 said, “'Hum log bahar park me walk kar rahe the toh pata nahin chala. Lekin kafi tej tha. Log bahar aa gaye. (We were walking in the park, so we didn't feel it strongly. But it was quite strong. People came rushing out)'.”

The tremors were so strong that everyone rushed downstairs in panic, said a resident of a Ghaziabad high-rise.

Naresh Kumar, a resident of West Delhi, said this was the first time that he had experienced such a strong tremor.

Several others who had just woken up and were getting ready during the rush hour said that it was a strong earthquake as windows, doors, beds were shaking badly when they rushed out of their homes.

The epicentre where the earthquake struck, which has a lake nearby, has been experiencing smaller, low-magnitude quakes once every two to three years. In 2015, it recorded an earthquake of 3.3 magnitude.

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.

Delhi also has a history of tremors that have caused damages on various occasions including loss of lives.