Powerful earthquake hits Afghanistan-Pakistan region, tremors felt in Delhi - UPDATE

India Today
Sat, 02 Feb 2019 18:25 UTC

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Strong tremors were felt across North India, the first being reported from Delhi-NCR and Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

A powerful 6.1 magnitude earthquake jolted Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of North India on Saturday evening. Strong tremors were felt across North India, the first being reported from Delhi-NCR and Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said the epicentre of the quake was Hindu Kush, which is a mountain range that stretches near the Afghan-Pakistan border, from central Afghanistan to northern Pakistan.

The tremors in Delhi-NCR were felt around 5.34 pm and lasted for 40-50 seconds, an IMD official said.

There were no immediate reports of loss of lives or property.

Another earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck off Sumatra island in Indonesia on Saturday afternoon, the US Geological Survey said.

Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said there were no immediate reports of damage and that there was no potential for tsunami, the report said.

Comment: The Hindu reports:

In Pakistan's Quetta town, one girl was killed after the roof of her house collapsed in the earthquake. Deputy Commissioner Shabir Mengal said there were also incidents in other parts of Quetta, resulting in injuries to a dozen people.

He said some villages in Balochistan province also felt the tremors. "The injured have been rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. Emergency has been declared in all hospitals."

Rescue teams were also dispatched to the nearby Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to assess reports of damage. However Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority did not expect serious losses, a spokesman said.