A 6.6 magnitude earthquake centred in Afghanistan rocked many parts of north India at 10.30 p.m. on Tuesday with tremors felt as far as Delhi and the surrounding National Capital Region.
Panic-stricken people rushed out of buildings as the earthquake struck and was also felt in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan.
There was disruption in mobile services in some parts of the Jammu region immediately after the earthquake, an official said.
No immediate reports of casualties or damage were reported though the tremors were strong enough to prompt people to rush out of their houses.
The National Centre for Seismology reported the location of the quake at a depth of 156 km and centred in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush mountains.
“Though it was of moderate magnitude, the depth of it meant that surface waves from the quake travelled quite far,” M. Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, told The Hindu. “We don’t expect aftershocks.”
Northern India lies in a zone that is near faultlines and prone to tremors from quakes originating in Central Asia.
In east Delhi’s Shakarpur, anxious people filled the congested lanes after claims by some that a building had tilted, but it turned out to be a false alarm. Two fire tenders were rushed to south-east Delhi’s Jamia Nagar after a call claimed that a building was leaning there, officials said, adding further information is awaited.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “Strong tremors were felt across Delhi-NCR. Hope you all are safe.”
(With inputs from PTI)
