Earthquake in Delhi today: An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale hit Myanmar, tremors of which shook Delhi and NCR and especially affected the northeast. According to National Centre for Seismology, the earthquake occurred around 7:25 PM at a depth of 134 km. The US Geological Service said the epicenter of the earthquake was 74 km South East of Mawlaik in Myanmar.
Severe jolts were felt in most parts of West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand and to a lesser extent in Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, said J L Gautam, Operations Head at the National Centre for Seismology. There was no immediate report of any casualty or major damage.
“The epicenter is in Myanmar, some 100 km off the India-Myanmar border. Since the quake occurred at a depth of 134 km, the impact could be felt at a large distance,” Gautam said.
While the quake caused panic in Delhi, forcing people to rush out of their homes onto the streets, the tremors did not last long enough, nor were they strong enough to stop anyone from carrying on with their normal activities. The Delhi Metro services too were not disrupted unlike what happened during the quake that rattled the capital city on Sunday.
This is the second quake in the day in the northeast as a medium intensity temblor measuring 4.6 hit areas around Manipur capital Imphal at 9:26 AM.
In West Bengal, the impact was more in the northern districts. Metro Railway service was stopped for five minutes immediately after the quake, Metro spokesperson Indrani Banerjee said.
Tremors were felt in Patna, Begusarai, Vaishali, Kishangaj and other districts of Bihar, Patna MET director A K Sen said.
In neighbouring Jharkhand, there were jolts in Ranchi, Dumka, Godda, Deoghar, Sahibganj and Jamshedpur, geologist Nitish Priyadarshi said.
Officials at the Regional Seismological Centre in Shillong said the quake was located at latitude 23 degree north and longitude 94.9 degree east.
Also Read: Earthquake in NE
In Guwahati, some people reported cracks in buildings while there was power outage for some time in Shillong.
Tremors were also felt in the northeastern states of Mizoram and Nagaland.
All the northeastern states are categorised under zone V in the country’s seismological map and are considered highly vulnerable.
In Odisha, the Meteorological Centre said the epicentre of the earthquake was at a distance about 985 km from Bhubaneswar in the direction of East-North-East.
Apart from capital Bhubaneswar, tremors were felt in different places including Cuttack, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Paradip, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Angul, Balasore and Puri.
The tremors sparked panic among people in many areas as people swiftly moved out of buildings, particularly multi-storied and high-rise structures.
The earthquake in Myanmar was felt in parts of China and Bangladesh too. Residents in Myanmar’s main city of Yangon panicked after the quake struck, but authorities there said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. An Associated Press journalist who was in a hospital in Yangon at the time of the quake said the seven-story building shook strongly twice, for at least a minute. Many people in the hospital, including patients, staff and visitors, ran out of the building and began calling their loved ones. The quake, centered in the jungle and hills northwest of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, was also felt in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, 484 kilometers from the epicenter.
“We haven’t heard any reports of casualties or damage,” said an official from Myanmar’s meteorological department based in the capital Naypyitaw. “So far as I know the epicentre wasn’t in a densely populated area.” Witnesses in Bagan, central Myanmar, said some tourists left their hotel rooms and stood outside when they felt the tremor. They saw no sign of damage to buildings, however.
Strong tremors, lasting for about a minute, were felt in Tibet too after a 7.2-magnitude quake hit Myanmar today. State-run Xinhua news agency said the tremors were felt in Lhasa, the regional capital of the Tibet Autonomous region. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. Residents were seen rushing out of their houses. According to China Earthquake Networks Centre, a 7.2 magnitude quake jolted Myanmar today.
What to do during a quake:
Drop down to the floor and take cover under a bed or table.
Don’t use lifts. Take stairs instead – you don’t want to be trapped in there.
If you are in bed, hold on and stay there, protecting your head with a pillow.
Best option is to rush out to open grounds.
Relax and stay calm.
Gas cylinders must be switched off.
