THE HORRORS of the Gujarat earthquake that had wiped out many townships and villages besides leaving thousands of people dead, came rushing back when slight tremors rocked the Capital this morning.

An earthquake measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale rocked Delhi at 8.36 am today. The quake, which was of a slight intensity, had its epicentre in Haryana near Sonepat and was located at 28.8º North latitude and 77.2º East longitude.

The Seismology and Fire Control offices in Delhi said that there had been no reports of any damage to life or property due to the quake. Panic gripped Delhiites, when the tremors struck, shaking them out of their Saturday morning slumber. People rushed out on to the streets and waited outside for quite a while.

“I was sleeping when I felt the bed was rocking violently. The sound of the rattling doors and windows made me realise that it was an earthquake and I immediately woke up my daughter. As we are staying on the third floor, we ran out into the balcony instead of taking the staircase. By that time, quite a crowd had already collected downstairs and there was a lot of commotion,” said Janakpuri resident Brijender Shekhar.

Mohammed Babul of the Sadar Bazar area said the intensity of the tremors was so strong that his elderly mother, who was sleeping at the time when the quake struck, fell off her violently shaking bed. “The whole house was rattling. I helped my mother on to her feet and took her outside,” he said.

Today's tremors were felt by everyone throughout the city. But with the horrific memories of the Gujarat quake still fresh in their minds, people were extra cautious and more orderly in their reaction today.

Though the tremors did not last for more than three to four seconds, the panic-filled moments forced people to recollect the destruction in Gujarat caused by the January 26 earthquake, which had its epicentre at Rann of Kutch around 15 km north-west of Bhuj, had been given extensive coverage both by the electronic and print media and thus its horrors were still fresh in the minds of the people.