India shaken by 19th earthquake in 2012

March 5, 2012 – New Delhi, INDIA – Monday’s earthquake that shook the capital and certain areas in its neighboring states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh was the 19th tremor in the country this year so far and third in the past five days. The tremor, measuring 4.9 on the Richter Scale with Haryana’s Bahadurgarh as epicenter, shook Delhi and neighboring towns at 1:11 pm. A strong 5.2– magnitude earthquake (USGS) struck close to the Indian capital on Monday, with powerful tremors shaking buildings and sending frightened residents scurrying into the streets. According to the Indian Meteorological Department, this was the 19th quake in the country this year so far and third this month alone. In January this year, there were 10 tremors which were recorded in various parts of India. Six quakes measuring between 5.0 to 3.6 on the Richter scale were felt in February. Last year, there were 80 earthquakes in India, which measured between 3.5 to 6.5 on the Richter scale. A majority of these quakes occurred in the northern Indian regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Harayana and Punjab. “India has always been a zone which experiences a lot of seismic activities since ancient times. We are continuously doing research in the seismology department,” RS Dattatrayam, a scientist with IMD’s Seismic Department, told PTI. “Delhi will continue to experience these quakes and termors as it falls on the junctures of faults and ridges,” said Dattatrayam. According to the Seismic Zone Mapping done by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), Delhi is among 30 cities in the country falling in zone IV, which is defined as a severe intensity seismic zone. This is the third tremor in Delhi, which is among the 30 cities which fall in the high risk seismic zone, since September last year. –Zee News

contribution by Ujjwal