On May 15, an earthquake of magnitude 2.2 on the Richter scale was recorded near North Delhi’s Rohini. (File)
A minor earthquake hit the National Capital Region on Wednesday night, with tremors felt in parts of Delhi and Noida.
According to the National Center for Seismology (NCS), the earthquake, measuring 3.0 on the Richter Scale, hit 17km E of Faridabad, Haryana at 10:42 pm.
On May 15, an earthquake of magnitude 2.2 on the Richter scale was recorded near North Delhi’s Rohini.
As per NCS officials, earthquakes of less than 5 magnitude and higher depth range are unlikely to cause large-scale damage.
“These are minor earthquakes and their occurrence is normal. Earthquakes cannot be predicted, so it cannot be said that the frequency with which they have occurred over past month is unusual,” J L Gautam, the head of operations at the NCS, had told
“When a number of small earthquakes are recorded in a short span of time, a lot of energy is released and then the possibility of a larger earthquake reduces. But the ones recorded in the past month are minor and would have released little energy. So it cannot be said that there’s no possibility of a larger earthquake,” he added.
According to data available on the NCS website, between May 2015 and March 2019, more than 65 earthquakes have been recorded in the National Capital Region and its nearby areas.
While 13 earthquakes, ranging from magnitudes as low as 1.9 in December 2017 to 3.8 in February 2019, were recorded during this period in Delhi and nearby areas, Noida recorded six earthquakes and Gurgaon 10 during this period.
The highest count was near Rohtak, Haryana.
Delhi lies on Zone IV of the seismic map of India. As per the NCS, Zones IV and V have high probability of earthquakes that can be destructive or worse.