A man points to a crack in the wall of Green Valley Apartments on Sevoke Road on the outskirts of Siliguri on Sunday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Siliguri, Sept. 18: Buildings striated with cracks and crumbled walls dotted Siliguri after the powerful earthquake that sent the people cooped up in homes on the rain-soaked Sunday scurrying for the safety of streets.

One person died and more than 150 people were injured in the tremor that hit Siliguri along with the rest of north and north-east India around 6.10pm. Most of the people suffered injuries when they jumped off from balconies and terraces when the buildings trembled in the 40-second-long tremor.

Power went off for three hours and all shops and eateries located on Hill Cart Road, Sevoke Road and Bidhan Market were shut after the quake.

“It was a terrific experience which I had never gone through in my life before. The entire floor was trembling and iron shutters were shaking as if somebody was trying to push them,” said Manik Pal, a resident of Pradhannagar here.

The sole fatality in the quake in Siliguri was reported from Khalpara. Binod Agarwal, 46, and six others were injured when a wall came crashing down on them.

“All the seven were rushed to hospitals. But Agarwal succumbed to his injuries. Others are undergoing treatment,” said Siliguri mayor Gangotri Dutta.

Anjali Saha, working in a tailor shop at Fuleswari, was injured when a wall fell on her. She started running down from her second floor shop the moment she found that the earth was shaking.

“A portion of the building’s wall cracked and some bricks fell on my head,” Roy said after she was administered medicine in the emergency ward of the Siliguri district hospital.

Biswajit Biswas of Champasari, who jumped from the first floor of a building and injured his shoulder, was also treated in the same hospital.

Uttara Roy, a resident of Netajinagar, came to hospital with an injury on the head. Her husband, Baneswar Roy, said she was at home when the earthquake took place. “My wife was about to come out of the room when the wall collapsed on her head. She needed a few stitches on her wound,” he said.

Susanta Sarkar, the superintendent of the district hospital, swung into action soon after the tremor. He formed a team of five doctors for the treatment of the injured people. “More than 100 patients have received treatment in the emergency ward. Most of them suffered head injuries,” said Sarkar.

The mayor and member-mayor-in-council (building) Krishna Pal visited the hospital and talked to the injured people.

“I have spoken to the doctors and am trying to figure out the extent of the damage. I heard that several structures developed cracks and many were injured. We are now trying to form a disaster management team that will help the victims here,” said Datta.

The quake was a double whammy for the Puja shoppers who had to stay back at home today because of the incessant rains.