On Friday, Earthquake of medium intensity, magnitude 4.7 hit near Delhi, according to Indian Metroloogical Department (IMD), which triggered the people to rush out of their homes. The quake was the latest in a string of numbers of low-intensity earthquakes knocking the city over the last two months.
The earthquake was epicenter around 63 Km Southwest of gurugram in Haryana and had a depth of 53 Km and the tremors lasted for nearly 3-4 seconds.
Since April, Delhi-NCR has recorded more than 17 Earthquakes of low and medium intensity on the Richter scale –
April 12 – Delhi (3.5);
April 13-Delhi (2.7);
April 16 – Delhi (2);
May 3 – Delhi (3);
May 6 – Faridabad (2.3);
May 10 – Delhi (3.4);
May 15 – Delhi (2.2);
May 28 – Faridabad (2.5);
May 29 – Rohtak (4.5 and 2.9);
June 1 – Rohtak (1.8 and 3);
June 3 – Faridabad (3.2);
June 4 – Rohtak (2.1);
June 8 – Delhi-Gurgaon border (2.1);
June 18 – Rohtak (2.1);
June 19 – Rohtak (2.3).
All the earthquakes in Delhi-NCR are result of the release of strain energy which has been accumulated as a cause of northward movement of the Indian tectonic plate and its collision with the Eurasian plate through the fault or weak zones, the Pioneering Research Institute said in a statement.
Earthquakes of magnitude four or below rarely cause any damage and are mostly insignificant for practical purposes. According to increasing intensity and frequency of Earthquake, Delhi-NCR has been identified as the second highest seismic hazard zone (Zone IV) among the four seismic zones – II, III, IV and V.
Showing concern over the matter, CM Arvind Kejriwal wished for the safety of the all citizens.
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) began identifying structures to ensure the seismic stability of high-rise buildings in Delhi. Also issued notices to groups and insitutions to submit structural audit reports, back in June.