At approximately 1.10 pm local time (7.40 am GMT) on Monday 5 March 2012, the Indian capitol New Delhi was shaken by an Earthquake which was recorded as measuring 5.2 on the Richter Scale by the United States Geological Survey, which occurred at a depth of 19.1 km, 48 km west of the city, in Haryana State. The quake was reportedly felt across Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh States. There are no reports of any serious damage or fatalities, but part of a school roof in Rohtak (Haryana) reportedly collapsed, and there are scattered reports of mino r injuries.
Quake location map from the United States Geological Survey.
The Indian plate is moving northward at a rate of about 47 mm per year, driving into Eurasia, which is moving to the northeast at about 20 mm per year. This causes uplift along the border between the two plates, creating the Himalayas, the Tibetan Plateaux, and the mountains of central Asia. It also causes India to compress, getting about 4 mm shorter along its north-south access each year, and leads to regular Earthquakes on both tectonic plates.
The most recent major Earthquake was in September 2011, on the border between Sikkim and Nepal, which measured 6.9 on the Richter Scale, and killed 111 people, mostly in Sikkim. In 2001 an Earthquake in Gujarat measuring 7.7 on the Richter Scale killed over 20 000 people.
See also Earthquake in Tuva Republic, southwest Siberia, Major Earthquake in southwestern Siberia, Himilayan Earthquake, Earthquake in Mojen, northern Iran and Earthquakes on Sciency Thoughts Youtube.
