Not Just Delhi And Noida, Haryana Earthquake Tremors Were Felt 200 Km Away

The 4.4 magnitude earthquake, with its epicentre in Haryana's Jhajjar, shook not just Delhi and Noida. The tremors were felt as far as Meerut and Shamli in western Uttar Pradesh. While Shamli is about 140 km from Jhajjar, Meerut is over 200 km away. Several people in Meerut and Shamli felt the tremors just after 9 am, the same time when Delhi, Noida and Gurugram shook.

According to the National Institute of Seismology, the estimated magnitude of the earthquake was around 4.4 on the Richter scale and its depth was 10 km.

Several Delhi residents left their homes after fans and other household items swayed after the quake struck at 9.04 am. The tremors were also felt in office areas in Noida and Gurugram, as computer systems shook and some professionals stepped out of their offices. In Haryana, tremors were felt in Gurugram, Rohtak, Dadri and Bahadurgarh.

People took to social media to post about the earthquake and how they responded to it, many of them underlined how long it felt.

As soon as the earthquake struck, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) put out an advisory. It asked people not to panic, run outside and take the stairs while doing so. NDRF also had a piece of advice for those driving when the quake hits: pull over at an open space.

Earthquakes are not unusual in Delhi due to its geographic location. According to the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, seismicity in north India, including the Himalayas, is due to the collision between the Indian tectonic plate with the Eurasian plate. "These colliding plates flex, storing energy like a spring, and when the plate's margins finally slip to release energy, an earthquake results," the DDMA explains.