Panic grips residents as tremors jolt Delhi-NCR

Strong tremors were felt in parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) on Sunday, triggering panic among people, many of whom rushed out of their homes and offices for safety. 

In Delhi, people rushed out of their houses and office buildings as tremors lasted for over a minute. As a precautionary measure, Metro services were temporarily halted. The tremors were felt at around 4 pm.  

“I was in the office when the quake happened. The office building started shaking, following which the staff rushed to the open area. The building was vacated by security men and we were allowed to re-enter after 30 minutes. Almost all office buildings were evacuated in the area. By God’s grace, we were not injured in the incident,” said Abhishek Kumar, a manager with a trade organisation in Nehru Place.

All Metro trains were stopped across Delhi and NCR and restarted only after 2-3 minutes with a precautionary speed of less than 40 kmph till every train reached the next station/section. This way, train services were running with normal speed on all lines by 4.35pm. No damage has been reported from anywhere so far.

“Earthquake!!!! It was really scary! I could see plants and furniture shaking at 6th floor office of Delhi secretariat. Wish all is well,” tweeted Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

“The earthquake, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale at a depth of 190 km, hit the Hindukush mountain region at 3:58 pm,” said JL Gautam, Operations Head of National Centre for Seismology.