At least six people were killed in Nepal when a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the lower Himalayan region early on Wednesday, leading to tremors rippling across parts of the country and north India and jolting people out of their sleep in scores of cities and villages.
The National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said the epicentre of the 6.3-magnitude earthquake, which struck at 1.57 am, was in Nepal, about 90 km east-southeast of Pithoragarh. The region has been experiencing lower magnitude quakes for the last few days.
Mild aftershocks were also felt in the Uttarakhand-Nepal region at 3.15 am and 6.27 am. The NCS said the magnitude of the two tremors was 3.6 and 4.3 respectively.
The National Earthquake Monitoring Centre of Nepal said a 6.6-magnitude quake was recorded at 2.12 am. The epicentre was in Doti district.
Two moderate earthquakes preceded the stronger tremor that jolted western Nepal, a 5.7-magnitude tremor at 9.07 pm on Tuesday and a 4.1-magnitude one shortly after at 9.56 pm. The epicentre was the same, it said.
Scientists on Wednesday said there is a strong possibility of a major earthquake in the Himalayan region and underlined the need for better preparation to minimise the damage to life and property.
Senior geophysicist of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology Ajay Paul said the Himalayas have come into existence as a result of a collision between Indian and Eurasian plates.
Due to constant pressure of the Eurasian plate on the Indian plate, strained energy accumulating under it keeps releasing itself from time to time in the form of earthquakes, Paul said.
“Occurrence of earthquakes due to accumulation of strained energy under the Himalayas is a normal and relentless process. The entire Himalayan region is highly vulnerable to tremors and the strong possibility of a major earthquake is always there,” Paul said.
Six people were killed in the earthquake, Nepal’s Home Ministry spokesperson Phanindra Pokharel said.
Five people who sustained serious injuries were rushed to the district hospital in Doti, Pokharel told PTI over the phone. A police post and eight houses collapsed due to the earthquake.
The tremors were felt in Delhi and the surrounding areas of Ghaziabad and Gurugram and even in Lucknow, jolting people out of their sleep.
Many people shared their experiences on Twitter, posting videos of people rushing out of their houses and neighbours gathering in groups, huddled over their phones as they tried to find out what had happened and where the epicentre was. One video showed a chandelier shaking.
“I’m just 80 km away from the centre of this earthquake.... I tell you guys.... I was in deep sleep. My table started hitting the wall.... Almirah made sound.... And my bed shook.... It was for at least 50 to 70 seconds,” posted Dinesh Sharma, who said he is based in Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh near the border.
“The tremor was absolutely clear in Lucknow too,” added Tanmay Singh.
Neha Yadav, another Twitter user, said she is staying in Delhi for four years and had never felt such tremors.
“It’s 2 am and people are having a stroll on the streets.... Reason - #Earthquake,” said Aakash Biswas and shared a video of people moving on a street.
Among those who went on Twitter was Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi. “Didn’t want to tweet but one can safely say it did feel like an earthquake!” she wrote on the microblogging website.
People ran out of their houses in panic in a number of Uttarakhand towns as the tremors were felt across the hill state, including in Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Almora, Champawat, Udham Singh Nagar, Nainital, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Tehri, Pauri, Haridwar, Uttarkashi and Dehradun districts.
The Himalayan region in Uttarakhand and adjoining Nepal has been experiencing earthquakes of lower magnitudes for the last couple of days.
