New Delhi : The tremors were felt for over 30 seconds in the national capital as a strong earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter Scale hit Nepal again on Tuesday.
The tremors were also felt across northern India and several eastern parts of the country, including Assam and Nagaland.
L.S. Rathore, director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said that the earthquake’s epicentre was 60 km east of Kathmandu.
He said that after the earthquake, three aftershocks were also reported at close intervals.
“The first aftershock was reported at 1.04 p.m. with an intensity of 5.4 on the Richter scale, the second one was of 6.2 magnitude and came at 1.06 p.m., and the last one was witnessed at 1.44 p.m. with a magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale,” he said and added that the aftershocks will continue for at least few more weeks or months.
Delhi Metro services were halted for few minutes due to aftershock.
“At around 12.38 p.m., the earthquake was felt. After that, train services were stopped which resumed at 12.45 p.m.,” a Delhi Metro official told IANS.
Officials of the fire department said that no casualty was reported in the national capital.
“As of now, no casualty has been reported in Delhi due to earthquake which continued for a few seconds,” said an officials of Delhi fire department.
Panic gripped the city’s residents after tremors were felt.
“I was with my client at home when the quake occurred. We all ran outside the building and saw many others rushing out of their houses after feeling the tremors that lasted at least for 30-45 seconds,” Uttam Dutt, a Delhi-based lawyer, told IANS.
Kushagra Dixit, a journalist with a news portal, said that he was lying on the bed when the floor started shaking.
“It was a horrible experience. I rushed outside the building and reached a park,” he said.
This is the second powerful earthquake to hit Nepal after the devastating April 25 temblor which rattled the Himalayan nation and killed over 8,000 people, injured more than 17,500 and displaced millions.