A strong earthquake, which originated in Afghanistan's Hindu Kush region on March 21, was felt for several seconds in various parts of northern India, including Delhi-NCR, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh.
The earthquake's magnitude was of 6.6 on the Richter scale, and its epicentre was close to Fayzabad in Afghanistan, the National Center for Seismology tweeted.
The tremors erupted at 10:17 pm, at a depth of 156 km, it said.
Earthquake of Magnitude:6.6, Occurred on 21-03-2023, 22:17:27 IST, Lat: 36.09 & Long: 71.35, Depth: 156 Km ,Location: 133km SSE of Fayzabad, Afghanistan for more information Download the BhooKamp App https://t.co/kFfVI7E1ux @ndmaindia @Indiametdept @moesgoi @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/sJAUumYDiM— National Center for Seismology (@NCS_Earthquake) March 21, 2023
Along with Afghanistan, where it erupted, the earthquake also struck parts of Pakistan. The tremors were stated to be strong in the cities of Lahore, Islamabad, Quetta and Peshawar.
There were no deaths or injuries immediately reported from any of the regions affected by the earthquake.
Videos on social media, however, showed panicked residents fleeing out of their homes after the tremors were felt.
The earthquake in Indian subcontinent has struck over a month after a series of earthquakes devastated Turkey and Syria, leading to at least 56,000 deaths and around 2 million persons being displaced in the region. The quake on February 6 was followed by several aftershocks till February 9, and cumulatively ended up destroying nearly 300,000 residential buildings in Turkey, as per the official estimates.
