A magnitude 6.5 earthquake has been reported 61 km from Eshkashem, Tajikistan at 10.17 pm on Tuesday. Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan were affected by the quake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The USGS said the epicentre of the earthquake was 40 kilometers (25 miles) south-southeast of the Afghan town of Jurm, near the borders with Pakistan and Tajikistan.
According to the National Center for Seismology, "an earthquake of Magnitude 6.6, occurred at 10.17 pm 133 km SSE of Fayzabad, Afghanistan."
The Pak Met Department said the earthquake with magnitude 6.8 that struck the region had Hindukush Region in Afghanistan as its epicentre.
Tremors were also felt in Delhi and parts of north India, reports said.
The earthquake created an atmosphere of panic in Delhi NCR. Many people ran out of their houses in panic. Natural calamities make us realize how human beings and Science are helpless before nature, said Naveen Shrivastava, a resident of Burari.
The people of Indirapuram felt such an earthquake for the first time! said Sitaram Garg.
“I was having dinner when I felt sudden tremors, first I didn’t believe it was an earthquake but later when I heard a commotion outside. I along with my parents rushed outside our house,” said 26-year-old Akshay Yadav, a resident of Yamuna Vihar.
He further added that he never felt such a strong earthquake.
There were reports quoting Delhi Fire Services that they have received a call about the tilting of a building in the Shakarpur area. However, a Civil Defence volunteer told The New Indian Express, "The building in Shakarpur was already made like that as there was gap already. No damage due to the earthquake. It was a hoax call. The situation is under control. We checked the building from top to bottom & there's no problem."
One of the residents of Saba Apartment, Sector 34 Noida, Javed Siraj who lives on the fourth floor said, "It was a terrible experience for the ones who are living in high-rise buildings. Apparently, everyone got nervous and came rushing down into the open area. Lifts were all full and some youngsters even risked taking the stairs to come down."
Wishing for the well-being of the citizens, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “ Strong tremors of the earthquake were felt across Delhi NCR. I Hope you all are safe."
Recently, In a Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) meeting, It was decided that to deal with circumstances like the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, Delhi must establish a State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF).
A resident in Rajasthan's Sri Ganganagar district said he felt three tremors back to back.
A senior seismologist said the reason why people in northwest India and Delhi felt the tremors for a relatively long time is that the "depth of the fault was more than 150 km".
People in northern India first felt the primary waves and then were impacted by the secondary waves, he said.
There was a disruption in mobile services in some parts of the Jammu region immediately after the earthquake, an official said.
There was no immediate report of any loss of life or property.
According to a report, Twitter users shared videos of ceiling fans and light fixtures shaking during the massive quake. Eyewitnesses have also claimed to have felt the earthquake in states such as Kashmir and Jaipur.
Tremors were felt in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Quetta, Sargodha, Mianwali, Peshawar, Kohat, Swat, Chitral, Dir, Shangla, and other districts of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, according to local media reports.
Al Jazeera quoted a resident of Islamabad, Sarah Hasan as saying that the walls of her house vibrated as the earthquake hit the Pakistani capital.
“It started off slowly and then became strong,” the 43-year-old said. “The house was vibrating, things were shaking. It started slowing down, and after a few minutes, it felt like everything is calm again,” the report said.
Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
More than 1,000 people were killed and tens of thousands made homeless after a 5.9-magnitude quake – the deadliest in Afghanistan in nearly a quarter of a century – struck the impoverished province of Paktika on 22 June last year.
(With inputs from Online Desk, PTI, AFP)