6.6 Magnitude Earthquake Jolts Afghanistan, Pakistan, Parts Of India; People Rush Out In Panic

A 6.6 magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and north India on Tuesday night.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter of the earthquake was 40 kilometers south-southeast of Jurm in Afghanistan's Hindukush region.

Eleven people have reportedly died in Pakistan and Afghanistan, while nearly 100 people have suffered injuries.

In India, tremors were felt in J&K, Delhi, Chandigarh and Rajasthan as people rushed out of their homes in panic.

AP quoted Pakistan officials saying that over 200 people were brought to hospitals in Swat valley and elsewhere in the region of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in a “state of shock”.

Pakistan media reported that several buildings developed cracks after the earthquake.

India is prone to earthquakes as cities and towns in eight states and union territories are in seismic zone-5 and are vulnerable to the most powerful earthquakes. Even the National Capital Region is classified as zone-4, the second-highest level. Read more here.

Delhi is in a position where it is not only affected by earthquakes in the Himalayan region but also has fault lines closer to it. The Delhi-NCR region has several faults or weak zones that include the Delhi-Haridwar Ridge, Mahendragarh-Dehradun Subsurface Fault and Moradabad Fault.

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