Did Earthquakes Really Crack Roads in Delhi? Unpacking the Facts
The rumor mill in Delhi doesn’t stop grinding, especially when the ground shakes. After residents felt tremors this year—first in February, then again in April—videos and images began circulating online, claiming epic cracks had split major roads across the city. But is there any truth to these viral posts?
Let’s start with the facts. On April 19, a Delhi earthquake rattled social feeds after a stronger 5.8 magnitude quake centered in Afghanistan caused obvious tremors in the capital. Despite the anxiety, officials from the National Centre for Seismology reassured everyone: not a single major structure or road showed visible damage. In fact, the Delhi Police and disaster management teams confirmed they received no emergency calls about roads splitting or buildings falling apart.
Jump back to February, and there’s the second major tremor—a 4.0 magnitude quake that was actually right under Delhi. This one was close to the surface—just 5 kilometers deep—so the shakes felt a bit rougher, especially in high-rise apartments. But again, all signs pointed to business as usual the next morning. People may have swapped chilling stories, but the roads? They held up just fine.
So, what’s with the viral video claiming a monster earthquake hit on April 7? That clip quickly spread on local WhatsApp groups and Twitter, showing deep fissures and dramatic scenes said to be in Delhi. Only problem—official monitors, as well as the National Centre for Seismology, have zero record of a significant tremor in the city that day. Newsrooms dug in and tracked some of the footage to older, unrelated incidents elsewhere in India. It’s a classic case of recycled panic getting more eyeballs than slow, steady facts.
Why the Panic Sticks—And What Science Says
Delhi’s jittery nerves make sense. The region sits near active fault lines and regularly feels aftershocks from larger seismic events nearby. And with each tremor, social media lights up with real-time chatter, speculation, and often—misinformation. It only takes minutes before someone claims to have seen a cracked flyover or a fissure in a busy street. Yet every time, city engineers and road repair teams have checked the hot spots reported online—finding potholes, old asphalt patches, or plain old camera tricks, but no fresh earthquake scars.
If you’re wondering whether road cracks could ever happen after a quake, technically, yes—but not from the kind of quakes Delhi has seen this year. Infrastructure in the city is generally built to withstand weak-to-moderate tremors. Significant damage, like the roads you see breaking apart in Hollywood movies, is usually only seen after much stronger earthquakes. And those kinds of disasters are impossible to hide—emergency services can’t miss them, and neither can residents.
- The April 19 quake felt in Delhi stemmed from Afghanistan, with no structural damage locally.
- The February quake under the city rattled nerves, not roads.
- The supposed April 7 disaster? It never happened, according to every official scientific body that monitors the region.
The bottom line: shaky footage and scary stories don’t hold up to real-world checks. If you see videos of earthquake damage in Delhi, take a beat and look for actual news reports or official statements before spreading the word.
