Low-intensity earthquake of magnitude 2.2 hits Pitampura in Delhi

A low-intensity earthquake of magnitude 2.2 hit the national capital on Friday, the fourth since April 12, the National Centre for Seismology said. The epicentre was Pitampura in north Delhi. The NCS said the quake occurred at 11:28 am at a depth of eight kilometres. The NCS is a body under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

On May 10, a medium-intensity earthquake of magnitude 3.4 hit the area near Wazirpur in northeast Delhi. Wazirpur and its nearby areas were the epicentre of the earthquakes on April 12 and April 13, of magnitude 3.5 and 2.7, respectively. There are five seismic zones. Delhi falls in the fourth zone.

According to the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, seismicity around Delhi appears to be associated with a major geological structure known as the Delhi-Hardwar Ridge. An earthquake of magnitude 2.8 had hit the national capital in 2004. Another 3.4 magnitude quake was recorded in the city in 2001, according to official data.

The major quakes recorded near the national capital were at Bulandshahr (magnitude 6.7) on October 10, 1956 and at Moradabad (magnitude 5.8) on August 15, 1966. Both are in western Uttar Pradesh.