Strong tremors, lasting for nearly two minutes, were felt in several north Indian states after a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan on Tuesday evening. This was the second earthquake to hit Afghanistan on Tuesday.
The quake struck 133 km southeast of Fayzabad in Afghanistan, according to National Centre for Seismology. 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.
Tremors were also felt across various cities in Pakistan. Videos shared on social media show people gathered on the streets and people reported objects falling inside their homes. Many people came to open spaces in residential buildings as tremors were felt for a while.
No deaths or injuries were immediately reported. There was disruption in mobile services in some parts of the Jammu region immediately after the earthquake, an official was quoted as saying. A Noida resident said he first noticed the dining table shaking. "Soon after we saw that the fans were also shaking. The earthquake was strong in terms of intensity and stayed for a longer period," the resident of Hyde Park society in Noida was quotes as saying.
Tremors were also felt in Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, China and Kyrgyzstan. “The reason why people in northwest India and Delhi felt for relatively longer time is because of the depth. The depth of the fault is over 150 km so first primary waves were felt and then secondary waves. After shocks are likely now but they can't be forecast”, J L Gautam, head of office and Scientist at National Center for Seismology, said.
People rushed out of their homes in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.
