A powerful 7.1 magnitude today jolted many parts of Pakistan including Pakistan occupied Kashmir, killing one person and forcing people to flee their homes.
The duration of the quake was around 10-15 seconds. The epicentre of the quake was in the border region of Afghanistan and Tajikistan in the HinduKush mountains having a depth of 236 kilometres.
The quake was felt in Khyber-Pakhtuknkhwa and Punjab province as well as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan regions.
Several parts of north India, including the Delhi NCR region, felt strong tremors following the quake, forcing people out of their homes and creating panic.
Tremors were felt in Pakistan and large parts of north India, including Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, besides Delhi National Capital Region.
The Sunday afternoon tremors left people scampering out of their homes.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who was in the Delhi Secretariat when the tremors were felt tweeted, “Earthquake!!! It was really scary! I could see plants and furniture shaking on the sixth floor office of Delhi secretariat. Wish all is well.”
Delhi Metro services were briefly suspended following the temblor. “Services were halted briefly after the quake but we resumed operations soon after,” a Delhi Metro official said.
Delhi Fire Department and police officials said control rooms have not received any calls reporting major damage or collapse of any buildings.
A mild earthquake hit Surat and Tapi districts of Gujarat around 3:04 pm, officials of the Institute of Seismological Research said.
Surat District Collector Rajender Kumar said the low-intensity quake had its epicentre at Nandvi town near Surat.
“We have received reports of mild tremor with epicentre near Nandvi town. No reports of loss of life or property have been received,” he said.
Tapi’s Kakrapar town, which houses a nuclear power plant, also experienced the tremor, but there was no report of any damage to the facility.
Image: A man clears debris after his house partially collapsed following an earthquake in Srinagar. Photograph: Danish Ismail/Reuters
