DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,
According to witnesses, there are no immediate reports of quake victims in Kabul, Islamabad and New Delhi.
A powerful earthquake has been felt in parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, sending residents into the streets in panic, according to witnesses.
There were no immediate reports of casualties from Tuesday’s earthquake.
Pakistan’s Meteorological Department said the quake had a magnitude of 6.8, with the epicenter in the Hindu Kush mountain range near the remote northern Afghan province of Badakhshan.
Magnitude: 6.8
Epicenter: Hindukush region, Afghanistan.#earthquake pic.twitter.com/YiBs5qaefF— Suit With Department محکمہ موسمیات (@pmdgov) March 21, 2023
Separately, the US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated the magnitude to be slightly lower, at 6.5, according to preliminary information.
The USGS said the epicenter was 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the Afghan city of Jurm, near the border with Pakistan and Tajikistan.
Initial reports said the quake was felt in the Afghan capital Kabul, as well as a number of Pakistani cities, including Islamabad and Lahore.
Witnesses also reported feeling the shaking in Indian-administered Kashmir, as well as India’s capital, New Delhi.
Large parts of South Asia are seismically active as a tectonic plate known as the Indian Plate pushes northward into the Eurasian Plate.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake in eastern Afghanistan killed more than 1,000 people last year.
This is an evolving story. More to follow.
