Vizag earthquake scare: Residents report tremors, but where is the official data?

Residents of Visakhapatnam took to social media in the early hours of Tuesday, reporting sensations of a brief but strong earthquake, though official confirmation from Indian authorities remains pending.

According to a report by LiveMint, users on X described feeling tremors that lasted for several seconds. The independent seismic monitoring service, Volcano Discovery, later listed a “seismic-like event, possible earthquake” near Vizag at approximately 4.19 am IST (10.49 pm GMT Monday). The tracking site noted, however, that no details on the quake's magnitude or depth were yet available.

As of Tuesday morning, the National Center for Seismology (NCS), India’s official nodal agency for earthquake monitoring, had not issued any statement regarding the reported event. Its most recent public update concerned an earthquake in Russia's Kamchatka region on Monday.

The reports from Andhra Pradesh emerged as a separate, powerful earthquake caused significant devastation in northern Afghanistan. As per LiveMint report, a 6.3-magnitude quake struck early Monday, with its epicentre 22 kilometres west-southwest of Khulm.

Afghan disaster management officials provided a grim assessment, confirming at least 20 fatalities and more than 640 injuries, with 25 individuals in critical condition. Qari Taj Mohammad Hemat, deputy spokesperson for Afghanistan's National Disaster Management Authority, stated that the provinces of Balkh, Samangan, Sar-e-Pul and Kunduz were affected.

The historic Blue Mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif, a site of immense cultural and religious significance, sustained some damage, with social media footage showing dislodged bricks from its walls, though the main structure remained intact.

The quake exposed the vulnerability of construction in the region. In areas near the epicentre, residents were seen sifting through the rubble of collapsed mud-brick homes with their hands. The nation often struggles with disaster response, a challenge compounded by building practices that leave structures highly susceptible to seismic activity.

Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, reportedly indicated that the casualty figures were provisional, noting that rescue efforts were ongoing and the numbers were subject to change.