Earthquake shakes buildings in New Delhi

There are reports of an earthquake being felt in New Delhi, with buildings shaking. A related report cites a 6.2 magnitude earthquake in the Nepal region, however the USGS classifies it at 5.6.

It’s 11:45 pm local time in New Delhi so people would be indoors. The duration was a reported 40-50 seconds.

New Delhi is in northern India, near Nepal and the fault lines that run near the border. Given the 33 million people that live in the city and the quality of infrastructure, even a small earthquake could be a major tragedy.

Notable earthquakes have hit the area in history but it’s certainly not known for them. The later two in 1956 and 1960 only caused injuries but there is fear that the city could eventually be hit by a large earthquake, one of which was recorded in 1720.

This one appears to be some distance away so the shaking in the city would have been much less than near the epicenter and given preliminary reports, it’s unlikely there is notable damage.