‘Is it the big one?’ Strong tremors spark late-night panic in Delhi-NCR
Strong tremors jolted parts of north India sending shock waves across Delhi-NCR at 10.17pm on Tuesday as an earthquake of magnitude 6.6 struck the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan.
The tremors lasting about 30 seconds forced panic-stricken people to rush out of buildings and take refuge in open areas as fears of a “big earthquake” hitting the Indian Himalayan region, as forecast by experts, were revived. There was no immediate report of any loss of life or property.
The fire department received a complaint regarding a building tilting in east Delhi’s Shakarpur area but it turned out to be a “goodwill call made by cautious neighbours”.
Officials at National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said that the depth of the earthquake was 156km. According to J L Gautam of NCS, the reason that strong tremors were felt in Delhi-NCR was because of the great depth of the quake. “Quakes last for a very short period. So, if you live in a highrise, rather than attempting to access an open area, take refuge under a table or sit next to beams,” he said
The earthquake that struck the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan on Tuesday night triggered a massive scare in Delhi-NCR, particularly in highrise apartments, as people rushed out of their homes screaming and social media was flooded with videos of residents rushing down the stairs in panic or clips of shaking ceiling fans and chandeliers.
Many said the tremors, lasting around 30 seconds, were the longest and the scariest quake experience they had had in the city.
The NCS automated report said, “Earthquake of magnitude 6.6 occurred 133km southeast of Fayzabad, Afghanistan.” stated a report generated by the NCS.
“There’s nothing to panic as the epicentre of the event was very far away. The reason it felt quite strong in this region was due to its greater depth. Shock waves travel farther and last longer when the depth of the quake is great but their effect or intensity is low. If the depth is low then shock waves are not felt at larger distances but have high intensity,” said J L Gautam, scientist-F and head of office, NCS.
“The tremors were terrible, for a moment I thought it was something else but when the bottle on the table started shaking, I realised it was an earthquake. My mother was watching television so I rushed towards her and we both came down our building. Everyone in our locality was on the road,” said Hassan Khan, resident of Malviya Nagar.
Residents of highrise apartments in NCR said they felt the buildings shake, and ran down dozens of floors to get to safety. “We stay on the 16th floor of Pan Oasis Society in Sector 70, Noida. My wife was in the kitchen when everything started rattling. There was panic. We rushed downstairs,” said Pankaj.
“I felt the fan shaking. Then the doors and windows also started shaking. I headed out to the stairs, and so were other residents. A woman carrying an infant was saying a prayer while rushing down,” said a resident of Eldeco Aamantran in Noida’s Sector 119.
Ravindra Jha, who lives in Noida’s Vivek Vihar in Sector 82, said most of the residents had gathered in the society’s common area within minutes of the quake. He was there with his wife, two daughters and their pet dog. “By the time we reached the staircase, we experienced two more jolts. When we reached the ground floor, there was an assembly of people in large numbers,” he said.
Dinesh Singh of Homes 121 in Noida said people chose to remain outside for an hour after the tremors. “All the residents of the society remained on the ground floor for at least an hour,” he said.
In Gurgaon’s Sector 56, Dimple Singh said she initially thought her head was spinning. “I thought I was unwell, but then my neighbours told me it was a quake,” she said. Residents in the sector were out on the roads for half-an-hour afterwards, she added.
Others said they weren’t sure if they would even reach the ground floor in time.
“My study table started shaking. It was scary. I just took my phone, picked up my puppy and ran to the stairs. My wife and kids were at a family function. At one point, I wondered if it’s even possible to reach the ground floor from the ninth floor. People were in a state of panic when I got down,” said Vijay Joshi, a resident of Sector 89 in Gurgoan.
(With inputs from Noida and Gurgaon)
