Stuck in a massive traffic jam under a flyover in the national capital, Upasana Chandra thought she was feeling unwell when she felt her car was moving even while the engine was off. But, before she could think any further, a swarm of people started running on the road shouting "earthquake, earthquake".
"I felt like my head was spinning, but with the people running around within seconds knew it was an earthquake. Then I felt like I was trapped with no possible escape and looking at the quake's intensity I thought the flyover would fall," Chandra, who works in Noida, told IANS.
Like the 27-year-old corporate professional, many Delhiites felt the tremors that shook the national capital and other parts of the country after a massive earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richer Scale struck Nepal.
For IANS correspondent Sahana Ghosh, several feet beneath the ground, in India's oldest metro rail system, the Kolkata Metro, the doors refused to shut.
"The train didn't move. Like me, most of the regular commuters took it as just another technical snag. But panic soon spread like wildfire as the public announcement system blared out at us to exit... there had been an earthquake," she said.
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"An ordinary, sleepy Saturday had suddenly turned extra-ordinary.
"While some still stood resolute on the platforms waiting for things to go back to normal, most made a mad rush for the staircase. As if on cue, cell phones buzzed and rang. Near and dear ones were calling up.
"Then the phones went dead. The mad dash towards the exits was exacerbated as reality sunk in.
"Some tried to push and shove and make their way up the stairs, bypassing the screaming children and worried mothers.
"Thankfully, some officials and responsible citizens, shouted at the crowd to not panic. After several such calls, the evacuation process was more or less controlled. People consoled each other. Out on the ground, the streets (Middleton Row, Jawaharlal Nehru Road) were choc a bloc with people. Some were in their office wear, most in their casuals and night wear.
"Everybody was visibly shaken," Ghosh said.
In Delhi, Mohona Mukhuty, 36, told IANS that she felt the earthquake while she was getting her daughter dressed for school.
"I was standing on the floor and dressing up my daughter who was on the bed and suddenly felt the floor moving. First, I thought I am unwell, but immediately realized it was an earthquake. I picked up my child and ran downstairs without taking my phone and shutting the door. When I reached down, I saw all my neighbours downstairs," she told IANS.
The earthquake struck at 11.41 a.m. India time and claimed at least over 500 lives and left many bloodied. Several buildings collapsed, flights got cancelled, roads developed cracks and phone lines got snapped due to the earthquake. In India, seven people died due to the quake.
Many rushed out of their offices across the city when they felt the tremors.
"I was in a meeting at work when all the television sets in my office started swinging! I think it was as bad a tremor as the one that was felt during the Bhuj earthquake in 2001. All of us ran downstairs and saw many others from our building already there," Dev Khanna, 31, told IANS.
Following the tremors, the Delhi Metro also first stopped the train services from 11.42 a.m. to 11.52 a.m. and then due to the repeat tremors at 12.18 p.m., the services were again stopped from 12.18 p.m. to 12.23 p.m.
"I was in the Metro on a bridge between Pragati Maidan and Indraprastha stations when I first felt the tremor. The train was immediately halted as it was shaking really badly. I first thought that the movement was because of a train passing on the next train, but turned out it was a massive earthquake," Jerin George, 28, an advertising professional told IANS.For IANS copy editor Gunja Deo, "today was the most perceptible earthquake that I have ever felt in my almost five-year stay in Delhi. I was getting late and was waiting for the Metro at Rajiv Chowk station to reach Noida Sector-16 when I first felt the tremors.
"The tremors were so strong that I felt, somebody pushed me. I felt the
ground was moving, platform timer was swinging and the name plate of the
station was shaking. When my friend told me that it was an earthquake,
some of the people started laughing at us. I prayed to god and grabbed my
handbag to rush outside the metro station, while moving out I had to
persuade some commuters to move out. They said the tremors have subsided
and there was no need to move and panic.
"The tremors subsided later but I was aware it would be followed by aftershocks. However, I took the metro which came after a gap of 15 minutes. The Metro was moving very slowly as a precautionary measure. Due to fear, I got down at Noida Sector-15 instead of Sector-16 and found hundreds of people standing on streets. They said they felt the tremors twice and refused to resume work.
"I waited for five minutes outside my office before entering it. Of course, I saw the TV and came to know that the epicentre was in Nepal. The earthquake was fairly massive - 7.5 on Richter scale. I understood my home state Bihar must have suffered more damage from the earthquake as it is near to the epicentre.
"Anyway, the whole thing was quite an experience," Deo said.
