Delhi-NCR and other regions of north India are shaken by powerful earthquakes

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 rocked the Hindu Kush area of Afghanistan on Tuesday night, sending strong vibrations over much of north India, including Delhi-NCR.

At 10.17 pm, a strong earthquake jolted the mountainous area, causing people to flee their houses and flood the streets. There were no early reports of any casualties or property damage.

The epicentre of the earthquake, with a focal depth of 156 km, was located 133 km south-southeast of Fayzabad in Afghanistan, according to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS).

In the neighbouring country of Pakistan, where the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.8 and was felt in places including Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, and Rawalpindi, at least five people were hurt.

The Express Tribune newspaper stated that a rush was seen at the time of the earthquake in a market in Rawalpindi. A household's roof collapsed in Swabi, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, injuring at least five members of the family, according to the report.

India's northern region, which includes Delhi-NCR, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Rajasthan, felt the effects of the earthquake.

A citizen in Rajasthan's Sri Ganganagar area reported experiencing three consecutive shocks.

According to a renowned seismologist, the fault was "more than 150 km deep," which is why people in Delhi and northwest India felt the tremors for a comparatively longer period of time.

According to him, the main waves were felt by people in northern India first, followed by the secondary waves.

The NCS reports that the earthquake's epicentre, with a focal depth of 156 kilometres, was situated at 36.09 degrees north latitude and 71.35 degrees east longitude.

An official said that several areas of the Jammu region experienced mobile service interruptions immediately after the earthquake.

Anxious locals crammed the crowded streets of Shakarpur in east Delhi after hearing rumours that a building had tilted, but it turned out to be a false alarm. According to authorities, two fire trucks were sent to Jamia Nagar in south-east Delhi in response to a report that a structure there was tilting. They said that further information is needed.

Arvind Kejiwal, the mayor of Delhi, tweeted: "All around Delhi-NCR, there were strong earthquakes. I hope everyone is secure." A resident of Noida said he first observed the dining room table trembling. "Soon after, we saw that the fans were trembling as well. The earthquake had a tremendous strength and persisted for a longer time than usual "Hyde Park community in Noida resident claimed.

In Delhi, a taxi driver reported feeling the earthquake as he waited for customers.

"As I was waiting for passengers, my vehicle began to shake. I yelled and told my pals right away, "Ramesh Pawar, a taxi driver, was in the vicinity of Connaught Place in the heart of Delhi.

Jyoti, a resident of Lajpat Nagar in south Delhi, said that as she was watching television, the TV and couch began to tremble.

She first disregarded it, but when her husband warned her, she and her family hurriedly left their house.

"I originally disregarded it, but as soon as my husband warned me, I also felt the earthquake. The couch I was sitting on began to tremble a little since it was so forceful this time. We hastened out of our house. Fortunately, we are on the ground level, which gives us a quick escape route "She said.

"We felt the tremors for about 30 seconds and raced out of our house," said Inderjeet Kaur, a resident of Ghaziabad. Residents of a high-rise apartment complex in Noida, including Jagdish Patwal, reported feeling the couch and fan shake and seeing individuals descend from the 20th level. The conversations among the groups of individuals who hurriedly left their houses were dominated by talk about the potential epicentre of the earthquake and recollections of the havoc brought on by a series of tremors in Turkiye.

In Rajasthan, the shocks also created fear as residents fled their buildings out of prudence and sought information about the earthquake from others.

Many fled their houses amid the earthquakes in Punjab, Haryana, and their shared capital Chandigarh.

"I was ready to fall asleep when a tremendous quake struck me out of the blue. I hurried downstairs with my wife and two kids "said Ajay Kumar, a member of a Chandigarh residential community who resides on the third level.

Panicked residents of Zirakpur, a Punjabi town outside of Chandigarh with a lot of high-rise residential complexes, raced from their houses and congregated in public parks.

Strong earthquakes were reported in various locations in Punjab, including Pathankot, Mohali, Jalandhar, Phagwara, and Ludhiana.

Several locations in Haryana, including Panchkula, Ambala, Karnal, and portions of the National Capital Region, reported similar incidents.

People in Shimla, Mandi, and other locations in Himachal Pradesh hastened to safety.

All 12 of the state's districts experienced tremors, but no fatalities or property damage have been recorded, according to Sudesh Mokta, the special secretary for disaster management, who spoke to PTI.

After the powerful earthquakes, hundreds of Noida residents hurried out of their homes, which include dozens of high-rise flats.

The elderly, women, and small children were among those who fled in a state of fear, and some locals were carrying their pets.

"I was watching a television series when the earthquake hit. I mentally counted to 10 because it was frightful "Senior citizen Rajesh Kumar, who lives on the first floor of Supertech Capetown in Sector 74, spoke to PTI shortly after his family and he left their residence.

With the rush, some individuals chose to use the stairs instead of the elevator.

Mansi mentioned this as she helped a sick friend down from the 15th story of a residential tower. "People living on the top floors are the ones who suffer the most in emergency circumstances," she added.

As soon as they were outside the towers on the ground, several individuals could be seen phoning their friends and family to check on them and ensure their safety. Others even used video conversations to show the crowds that were around them.

A young man from Noida claimed as he was hurrying out of his house, "I can still feel as though I am shaking." PTI