Medium-intensity Earthquake Hits Delhi

New Delhi, May 10 (PTI) A medium-intensity earthquake of magnitude 3.4 hit Delhi on Sunday, a third in less than a month, the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said.

The epicenter of the quake that hit the national capital at 1.45 pm was near Wazirpur in northeast Delhi, said J L Gautam, the Head of Operations at the NCS, which works under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

The same location and the nearby areas were the epicentre of the earthquakes on April 12 and April 13 of magnitude 3.5 and 2.7, respectively.

The quake occurred at a depth of five kilometres, the NCS said.

Of the five seismic zones, Delhi falls under the fourth zone.

According to the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, seismicity around Delhi appears to be associated with a major geological structure, which is known as the Delhi-Hardwar Ridge.

It coincides with the extension of the Aravalli Mountain belt beneath the alluvial plains of the Ganga basin to the northeast of Delhi towards the Himalayan mountain.

Vineet Kumar Gahalaut, the Chief Scientist with the National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, said the region around Delhi is known for seismic activities.

“Areas adjoining Delhi witness smaller quakes every 10 days as it is on the Delhi-Aravalli fault line. Since they are in neighbouring areas and of small magnitudes, they don't garner much attention,” Gahalaut, a former Director of the NCS, said.

He said cities closer to Delhi like Alwar, Hisar, Sonepat, Ajmer have recorded seismic activities in the past.

C P Rajendran, a professor of Geodynamics at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bengaluru, said Delhi has not witnessed any quake above 4.5 magnitude so far.

There are also fault lines running parallel to the Delhi-Aravalli fault line which could be the reason behind smaller quakes in the area, Rajendran added.

An earthquake of magnitude 2.8 had hit the national capital in 2004. Another quake of magnitude 3.4 was recorded in the city in 2001, according to official data.

The major quakes recorded near the national capital were at Bulandshahr of magnitude 6.7 on October 10, 1956; and at Moradabad of magnitude 5.8 on August 15, 1966. Both are in western Uttar Pradesh.

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