On Tuesday evening, an earthquake in northeastern Afghanistan was felt all the way to New Delhi, with city residents in some parts of India and Pakistan fleeing their buildings in fear that they would collapse. The magnitude of the quake was initially reported as 7.7, but it was later confirmed to be 6.5, deep beneath the Badakhshan province.
The epicenter of the earthquake was located 187 kilometers (116 miles) beneath the surface, approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) south-southeast of Jurm in Afghanistan, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
The shaking lasted at least 30 seconds, according to reports, and the term “earthquake” quickly became trending on all social media platforms.
An AFP correspondent reported that “people ran out of their houses and were reciting the Koran” in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The tremor was felt in Islamabad, Peshawar, and Lahore as well. According to local media, at least two people were killed and hundreds were injured in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. A 13-year-old girl was among the dead, buried beneath her home’s wall.
The earthquake in India prompted the National Disaster Management Authority to tweet out safety tips, and the New Delhi police to check in on residents.
The earthquake on Tuesday evening was stronger than the 5.9 magnitude tremor that struck Afghanistan’s Paktika province last June. That earthquake was one of the most devastating in decades, killing over 1,000 people and displacing tens of thousands.
A series of powerful earthquakes struck the Turkish-Syrian border region last month, killing over 51,000 people in Turkey alone. The strongest of the quakes had a magnitude of 7.8. Ankara estimates that the damages will exceed $104 billion.
