The Day the Ground Didn't Shake

Another day, another earthquake on the Asian subcontinent.  Doesn’t come as much surprise anymore.  There was the October 8th devastating quake in Pakistan, along with numerous aftershocks.  Just yesterday, a 6.7 earthquake shook the Afghan-Pakistan border.  And now today, a 5.2 magnitude earthquake, with an epicenter in the north-eastern state of Uttaranchal, was felt as far as Delhi (and Chandigarh).

At about 12:30pm, I was msg’d by a fellow trainee.  She said that she had just felt an earthquake and that everyone in the office was freaking out.  Even in my earthquake-prone building, I still managed to feel not even a tremor.  A quick query to my colleagues produced just as much surprise as I would’ve expected...”What, really?”  Part of the reason for this has to be the nickname given to me by one of my colleagues.  When I type, I create an earthquake as it is (the screen and desk start shaking), hence the nickname “earthquake.”

Then the news reports starting coming out.  Reuters reports that there is no injury or damage that is yet known, however limited reports are all that’s available.

When asked what it was like, Germain (a fellow trainee from France) replied, “Hum, it's quite disappointing actually. It's was smooth and noiseless, a bit frightening. I felt like I was in a boat.”