6.8 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Afghanistan; Strong Tremors Felt In Delhi-NCR, North India

An earthquake of magnitude 7.1 on the Richter Scale struck Afghanistan region on Friday evening following which tremours were felt in various parts of north-India.

According to initial reports, the epicentre is said to be near Hindu-Kush region. (Representative Image/ Getty)

New Delhi: An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 on the Richter Scale struck Afghanistan region on Friday evening following which tremours were felt in various parts of north-India including Delhi-NCR, Punjab, Haryana and Kashmir regions. According to initial reports, the epicentre is said to be near Hindu-Kush region. According to the National Center for Seismology, the earthquake was centered 245 km north of Kabul, Afghanistan. Tremors were felt at around 5:20 pm today for about a minute in varios parts of the country. The tremors were reported in Mathura, Lucknow, Prayagraj, Jammu and Kashmir and several other parts of North India.

strong #earthquake shakes Hindu Kush Region, #Afghanistan 7 min ago. More info at: https://t.co/Vb7px7Wrc7 pic.twitter.com/OpEHl2uvAR

— EMSC (@LastQuake) December 20, 2019

News agency Reuters reported that tremors were felt even in Pakistan after the quake, which took place at a depth of 190 km at its epicentre. "Tremors of the quake, which occurred at 5.09 p.m. and whose epicentre was in the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan with a depth of 210 km, were also felt across north India as far as the Delhi-NCR region," the IMD said. Tremors were felt for several seconds in various parts of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh at 5.13 p.m., an official of the meteorological office in Chandigarh told news agency IANS. The earthquake was felt in several parts of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and eastern Punjab provinces and other northern areas of Pakistan, Xinhua news agency reported. No loss of life or property has been immediately reported, but the quake created panic among the people who scrambled out of buildings and compounds. The depth of the quake was 190 km, as per the India Meteorological Department, which initially estimated its magnitude at 7.1 before revising it.