New Delhi, Apr 16: Multiple tremors today shook north India, Gujarat, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Odisha, leaving a child dead in a mudsling and pulling panic-stricken people out of their homes and offices.
A quake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter Scale at 4:14 pm, was epicentred on Pakistan-Iran border, Indian Meterological Department said. The quake took place 33 km down the surface.
The tremors were felt in Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana and people were seen rushing out of high-rises in the national capital.
“I was inside my office in Connaught Place. I felt the chair trembling and rushed out of office,” Priya Dev, a chartered accountant in Delhi, said.
There were no immediate reports of any damage or casualty.
Mild tremors were today felt in parts of Rajasthan but there is no initial report of any loss.
“There are reports of tremors from different parts of the state though initially there is no report of loss to life or property,” police control room in Jaipur said. Western, central and southern parts of Gujarat also felt the tremors.
“There are no immediate reports of damage,” Birju patel, deputy director of the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority, said.
Earlier in the day, a moderate quake shook Arunachal Pradesh. The tremors measuring 5 on the Richter Scale was recorded at 2:04 pm with epicentre on India (Arunachal Pradesh)-China border.
An eight-year-old child was killed in a mudslide in Assam, which was rocked twice today and was also felt in other Northeastern states and Odisha.
The last time Delhi experienced tremors was on June 19 last year. A quake, measuring 3.8 on the Richter Scale and epicentred at Jhajjar in Haryana, was felt in the capital that day.
On March five last year, an earthquake measuring 4.9 on the Richter Scale with Haryana's Bahadurgarh as epicentre shooks parts of the capital.
In Delhi, the fire brigade and police said they have not received any immediate calls of casualty or damage.
According to the Seismic Zone Mapping done by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), Delhi is among 30 cities in the country falling in zone IV, which is defined as a severe intensity seismic zone.
