Mild quake jolts city early risers, sparks panic in Hills
Times of India | 8 January 2025
Kolkata/Siliguri/Kalimpong: Kolkata experienced mild earthquake tremors on Tuesday morning. Many early risers, people who were preparing to leave for their morning walks, and parents who woke up to get the kids ready for school felt the vibrations. Though mild, the tremors raised initial concerns about evacuation among some residents. But as there was no aftershock, most decided to stay put.
Businessman Sushil Poddar said: "I had just woken up and was standing on my balcony before heading out for my morning walk when I felt a vibration. At first, I thought I was unwell but then realised it was the ground moving."
"Initially, I couldn't register if it was an earthquake. By the time I did, there was no subsequent tremor, so we did not evacuate," said Girish Vasandani from Convent Road.
But many Kolkatans remained oblivious to the tremors until scrolling through social media later in the day. "I didn't feel anything at all. I came to know about the earthquake when I saw people posting about it on social media. I slept through it," said Sreya Ghosh, a resident of south Kolkata.
It was more severe for residents of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Sikkim, and the adjoining North Bengal regions, who woke up with a jolt at 6.35 am on Tuesday. For many, the earthquake brought back memories of the quake on April 25, 2015, in Nepal, and Sept 18, 2011, in Sikkim.
Rupendra Pradhan from Darjeeling said residents ran out of houses to save themselves. The tremors were felt for about 15 seconds. "I was getting ready for my morning walk when the stool I was sitting on started to shake. I rushed down the road with my wife. Our neighbours were shouting ‘Bhuichalo, Bhuichalo (earthquake)' and rushing out of their homes. The moment was a reminder of the April 25, 2015, quake when I was at my shop and the earth shook. However, compared to the one in 2015, today's tremor was a moderate one," said Pradhan.
Srijana Sharma, a school teacher, said, "I was ironing my clothes when I felt the tremors. I heard people shouting ‘earthquake' and I rushed outside. People were out on the streets in panic."
Some residents felt the tremors in Kalimpong but most were asleep in the cold winter morning of about 10°C and did not feel the quake. Praful Rao, from Save the Hills, an organisation working on hazard awareness, said the earthquake was not very intense. "It was not a long jolt; it lasted less than 15 seconds. Many did not even feel it," he said.