Earthquake hits Delhi-NCR updates: People in Delhi-NCR felt strong tremors around 10.22 pm on Tuesday night. It was estimated magnitude 6.6 on the Richter scale. According to reports, the epicenter of the earthquake was the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan. So far no loss to life or property has been reported.
According to USGS, tremors were felt in Turkmenistan, India, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, China, Afghanistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
People living in skyscrapers came out due to panic as their buildings shook following the strong tremors in several cities in India and Pakistan. People gathered outside their apartments in Delhi-NCR following the tremors. Metro services in Delhi-NCR were put on halt for hours as a precautionary measure.
Panic gripped residents
People in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, and some cities of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh were seen outside their homes with their kin to escape any untoward incident. Panic-stricken people started screaming when the earthquake hit residential areas. Social media was flooded with video clips showing the tremors.
Soon after tremors felt in Delhi-NCR, a report of a building developing cracks surfaced in Dehi's Shakarpur creating panic among the residents. A call to Delhi's fire department was also made following which fire tenders were rushed to the spot, however, residents of the building confirmed to India TV that it already had cracks ever since the building was constructed.
Delhi fire service said this seems to be a good intention call, no tiltaion was found in the building.
What data says
Region: Afghanistan-Tajikistan Border
Time: 2023-03-21 16:47:24.5 UTC
Magnitude: 6.8
Epicenter: 71.03°E 36.52°N
Depth: 184 km
Via: Kashmir Weather
Initial Data Source: GFZ
The epicentre is believed to be 90 km from Kalafgan in Afghanistan.
What expert said
“As we know that the Indo-Australian plate is colliding with the Eurasian plate and this release happened in that region. The HKH region is very active seismologically. The reason why people in northwest India and Delhi felt it for a relatively longer time is because of the depth. The depth of the fault is over 150 km so first primary waves were felt and then secondary waves. Aftershocks are likely now but they can't be Forecast”, J L Gautam, head of office and Scientist at the National Center for Seismology, said.
