It was early Monday morning and I was working on my laptop. I had to finish an urgent job for a client. Suddenly my table started shaking and with that the nearby cupboard, windows and everything else. I was shaken when I realized that it was an earthquake. Similar thing had happened on 26 January 2001 when Gujrat was devastated. It killed nearly 20,000 people and caused damage in neighbouring Pakistan. The quake affected 15.9 million people in 7,900 villages. On that day and time I was working on my desktop.

Then in October 2005 we were performin Havan when everything started shaking. About 1,500 people were killed in this quake in Indian Kashmir. It also killed about 73,000 people in Pakistan.

Then today, I was in the middle of an earthquake.I started praying. This time God had mercy and no damage was caused.

This time National Capital Region was rocked with an an earthquake measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale. The Gujrat earthquake measured 7.7 and in 2005 it measured 7,6. As per the Indian Meteorological Department, the nodal body in the country that monitors earthquakes, the "light intensity" quake struck at about 4:43 am, forcing terrified residents to flee to open spaces. However, there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The epicentre of the tremor was at the Delhi-Haryana border at 28.6 N latitude and 77.9 E longitude. Precisely it was centred around 10 kms from Bahadurgarh in Haryana. Today's quake was due to the re-alignment of the Sohana tectonic plate fault line that has been in the past lead to mild tremors in the region. Although, the Sohana fault line is not as serious a problem as the fault lines in the Himalayan region nevertheless its resurgent activities lead credence to the claims that a major earthquake can happen anytime in the region. Besides the capital, the tremor was felt in surrounding areas such as Noida (UP), Faridabad and Gurgaon (both in Haryana). Even people in areas as far as Meerut said that they felt the early morning tremors.

India has been classified into different zones indicating the intensity of damage or frequency of earthquake occurrences. These zoning maps indicate broadly the seismic coefficient that could generally be adopted for design of buildings in different parts of the country. These maps are based on subjective estimates of intensity from available information on earthquake occurrence, geology and tectonics of the country. The zoning of a country is a continuous process which keeps undergoing changes as more and more data on occurrence of earthquakes in that country becomes available.The region with intensity less than V is designated as Zone 0. Thus, the designation of area as seismic Zone V indicates activity. Delhi is located in zone IV which has fairly high seismicity where the general occurrence of earthquakes is of 5-6 magnitude, a few of magnitude 6-7 and occasionally of 7-8 magnitude. Delhi thus lies among the high-risk areas.

Earthquake has also hit Indonesia. At least three people have been killed and dozens injured in an earthquake on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa. Scores of houses have collapsed. The earthquake, which measured 6.7 on the Richter scale, struck the island shortly after midnight local time. Tremors could also be felt on Lombok and Bali. A few hours later there was an earthquake on Sumatra. As yet there are no reports on casualties. Seismic activity has increased in the region recently. 25 people died in a series of earthquakes in September. There was also substantial damage to buildings.

FEMA on earthquakes for kids

Earthquakes are the shaking, rolling or sudden shock of the earth's surface. Earthquakes happen along "fault lines" in the earth's crust. Earthquakes can be felt over large areas although they usually last less than one minute. Earthquakes cannot be predicted -- although scientists are working on it!

Most of the time, you will notice an earthquake by the gentle shaking of the ground. You may notice hanging plants swaying or objects wobbling on shelves. Sometimes you may hear a low rumbling noise or feel a sharp jolt. A survivor of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco said the sensation was like riding a bicycle down a long flight of stairs.

The intensity of an earthquake can be measured. One measurement is called the Richter scale. Earthquakes below 4.0 on the Richter scale usually do not cause damage, and earthquakes below 2.0 usually can't be felt. Earthquakes over 5.0 on the scale can cause damage. A magnitude 6.0 earthquake is considered strong and a magnitude 7.0 is a major earthquake. The Northridge Earthquake, which hit Southern California in 1994, was magnitude 6.7.

Earthquakes are sometimes called temblors, quakes, shakers or seismic activity. The most important thing to remember during an earthquake is to DROP, COVER and HOLD ON. So remember to DROP to the floor and get under something for COVER and HOLD ON during the shaking. Julia and Robbie: Disaster Twins

Let us pray - peace be on nature.