Earthquake: Here's why Delhi-NCR is a high-risk zone

New Delhi: A moderate intensity earthquake measuring 5.8 on Richter Scale on Monday hit Uttarakhand, tremors of which were felt in Delhi and other parts of northern India.

The epicentre of the quake was Rudraprayag district in Uttarakhand, said JL Gautam, Operations head at the National Seismological Bureau, a unit of Ministry of Earth Sciences.

"The depth of the quake was 33 km and it occurred at 10.33 PM," he said, as per PTI.

Uttarakhand, which falls in the Himalayan belt, is known for high seismic activities.

Tremors were felt across Punjab, Haryana and their common capital Chandigarh also after which many people rushed out of their homes.

There were no immediate reports of any loss of life or damage to property.

Here are some facts about Delhi-NCR region:

- Delhi-NCR entire region lies in very sensitive Seismic Zone 4.

- The earthquake zoning map of India divides India into 4 seismic zones (Zone 2, 3, 4 and 5). Areas under Zone 5 – western and central Himalayas, North-East and the Rann of Kutch – have the highest level of seismicity.

- Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Indo-Gangetic basin, Koyna region of Maharashtra are in Zone 4.

- Zoning is as per the number of active fault lines on the earth’s surface that can turn into the epicentre for an earthquake.

- A fault line is like a joint, a junction. It is the surface trace of a fault in earth’s crust which was formed as a result of a fracture in earth’s rocky crust.

- The main cause of earthquakes in the Himalayas and surrounding areas has been the friction between the Indian plate and Eurasian plate.

- Movement along the faults releases tremendous amounts of energy causing earthquakes on the surface.

- Delhi is particularly vulnerable to a major earthquake as it is situated on top or very near to many active seismic fault lines - the Sohna fault line, Delhi-Haridwar ridge zone, Mahendragarh fault line, Moradabad fault line and Rajasthan boundary fault line.

- Given the high-density of population in the Delhi-NCR region, a major quake with its epicentre in the region may cause massive damage to both life and property.