KOLKATA: The city woke up to tremors that measured 5.1 on the Richter scale on Tuesday morning. Even though the earthquake did not cause any destruction or injury, it led to momentary panic.
The National Centre for Seismology confirmed the earthquake at 6.10 am and traced its epicentre to the Bay of Bengal, off the Puri coast, at a depth of 91 km and 340 km south of Kolkata.
Social activist Soumali Chakraborty was shaken out of slumber by the quake. “It was early in the morning, and I was still asleep when I felt my bed shaking. I was so scared as I had no clue as to what was happening. Later, I realised that it must be an earthquake. Luckily, it lasted only a few seconds,” said the New Town resident.
Neera Bhatiya of Sodepur was in the kitchen preparing the morning tea when she felt the tremor. She was taken aback, wondering what was happening. Soon she realised that an earthquake had just shaken parts of Kolkata and the surrounding areas. “I was making my morning tea when I felt the tremor. It was quite subtle and lasted only a few seconds,” said Bhatiya, who runs Eurokids International.
Despite the moderate magnitude of the quake, there was no report of damage to property or injury. Seismologists said this was due to the depth of the epicentre, which reduced the intensity of the tremor on the surface. Shallow earthquakes originating five to 10 km below the surface are the ones that cause more damage.
“The shaking of my bed woke me up. I was perplexed. I realised the situation when my phone showed an earthquake notification alert,” said Howrah resident Subhankar Das. “I wake up early every day, and Tuesday was no different. I was leaning on my bed, listening to music, when I suddenly felt the tremor. Later, I found out that it was an earthquake,” added Tanisha Chetrii, a student from Dum Dum.
Experts said that Kolkata lies in Seismic Zone III, indicating a moderate risk of earthquakes, although the city is not as prone to severe seismic activity as regions like the Northeast.
Tuesday’s earthquake follows a similar one on Jan 8, when mild tremors were felt across Kolkata and its neighbouring districts following a powerful earthquake in Tibet and parts of Nepal.
“While preparing for a recording, I noticed my mic setup and table shaking slightly. At first, I thought it was because I tend to shake my legs, but then I realised that it wasn’t the reason. After posting on Facebook, I found out it was actually an earthquake,” said voice-over artist Malay Ghosh, a resident of Jadavpur.