Four mild earthquakes in Delhi were reported in a span of about three hours early on Tuesday. Delhi woke up with the first tremor at around 12.41 am measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale. The quake was reported at a depth of 10 kilometres below the ground with its epicenter near Sainik Farms in south Delhi.
This was followed by another earthquake in Delhi at around 1.41 am. measuring 3.3 in intensity. Centered further south beyond Gurgaon, the tremors of this one were felt in the satellite towns of Noida and Ghaziabad, besides the capital. The next two measuring 2.5 and 2.8 on the Richter scale, struck at 1.55 am and 3.40 am respectively. No damage or casualties have been reported but people rushed out of their houses into the streets, thinking the tremors might get worse.
Delhi is close to several fault lines as it falls in the siesmic zone 4, which is known to be the most earthquake prone area after zone 5. To know more about the recent earthquakes in Delhi, click here.
With almost 54 percent of land being vulnerable to earthquakes, the Indian subcontinent has been struck by several destructive ones in the past. According to a study by the World Bank and United Nations, around 200 million people in India will be exposed to storms and earthquakes by 2050. India is divided into 4 seismic zones, 2, 3, 4 and 5. The earthquake zoning map places zone 5 in the highest level of seismicity, while zone 2 lies in the lowest level. The entire north-east region, including the western and central Himalayas, Rann of Kutch and Kashmir falls in Zone 5. Delhi and the Indo-Gangetic basin also have high risk of quakes as these areas lie in Zone 4.
Since the prediction of an earthquake still lies at a nascent stage, the seismic risk evaluation of buildings become essential. Moreover, the major damage to life and property is caused by the collapsing of below-par building structures and not the earthquake itself.
