Residents of the Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) were woken up by strong tremors of a 4.0 earthquake at 5:36 AM IST. At a shallow depth of 5 kilometres, the seismic activity shook buildings, houses and open spaces. Even though there was no major damage to life or property, the tremors felt more stronger than on the Richter scale and forced people to step out of their houses worried that the aftershocks may return.

Netizens took to social media sharing their experience of the earthquake. Surveillance cameras caught cars shaking and tree branches falling. People is high rises felt more severe tremors than people residing on ground-floors created a heightened sense of panic. Even though it lasted for an extremely short span of time, the plausibility of an aftershock remained. Moreover, four hours following the tremors in Delhi, another earthquake with a magnitude of 4.0 on the Richter Scale hit Siwan, Bihar at 8.02 am on Monday, informed National Center for Seismology.

Gurugram terrace shook

As seen in the recording from a surveillance camera at 5:37AM IST, a terrace in Gurugram caught shaking pipes and wires. Delhi, which falls in Seismic Zone IV, is prone to moderate to strong earthquakes making these tremors more localised.

India Infra Report

India Infra Report’s post on X of what seems to be a hotel room shows a bathtub overflowing violently due to the earthquake tremors. The shocking waves and dangling glass doors makes it a potential hazard for residents. Users on social media speculate that “this is definitely not 4 magnitude”. Experts explain that Richter scale is a logarithm scale where each whole-number increase is equivalents to tenfold increase in amplitude and thirty-two times in seismic energy. This means that 4.0 magnitude means a ten times stronger shaking than a 3.0.

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Epicentre – Jheel Park

New Delhi: A man stands near an uprooted tree at Dhaula Kuan’s Jheel Park, the epicentre of the earthquake that struck the Delhi-NCR, in New Delhi, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Strong tremors were felt in Delhi after an earthquake of magnitude 4.o struck at 5:36am on Monday. (PTI Photo/Manvender Vashist Lav)

National Centre for Seismology Director OP Mishra said, “The epicentre was at Jheel Park in Dhaula Kuan”. Due to the shallow dept the people felt a larger impact, he explained further. He clarified that the tremors were not a tectonic earthquake but due to in situ material heterogeneity and that mild aftershocks are anticipated.

Tremors from Islamabad

Social media users also reported tremors being felt in Pakistan. Users from Islamabad and Rawalpindi shared videos and clips sharing their experience of the earthquake.

Residents from housing complexes and colonies in Delhi were seen on streets evacuating their homes for safety. They carried their children and pets concerned for their safety as the 4.0 magnitude felt more severe at the time.

It is important to note that the reason why the 4.0 magnitude felt stronger were because of Delhi’s proximity to active tectonic plates near the Himalayas, an urban development structure and the shallow occurance of the tremors. The intensity did not entirely reflect the numerical magnitude on the Richter scale and it certainly caused some distress among residents of Delhi NCR.