Earthquake jolts Afghanistan-Tajikistan border, tremors felt in north India

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Tajikistan near the Afghanistan border on Wednesday.

Delhi: An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck Tajikistan, in its mountainous border region near Afghanistan, on Wednesday. Tremors were felt in the Kashmir Valley, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and the national capital region. 

As per the United States Geological Survey, the quake set buildings shaking in the Afghan capital of Kabul, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The tremor hit at a depth of 96 km (60 miles), about 67 km (42 miles) south of the provincial capital of Khorugh.

Earthquake of Magnitude:6.1, Occurred on:09-05-2018, 16:11:34 IST, Lat:36.9 N & Long: 71.3 E, Depth: 96 Km, Region:Afghanistan-Tajikistan Border Region pic.twitter.com/vFcqMB4bkR — India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 9, 2018

M6.0 #earthquake (#землетрясение) strikes 164 km SE of #Kŭlob (#Tajikistan) 9 min ago. Effects reported by eyewitnesses: pic.twitter.com/O65lXcI3oG — EMSC (@LastQuake) May 9, 2018

Following are some of the reactions by social media users from Kashmir:

Everybody safe #Kashmir #Srinagar
Terrible tremors #Earthquake still shivering — تا بش نصیر⏺️ (@iam_Altruist) May 9, 2018

Earthquake hits Afghanistan and Pakistan. Strong tremors felt across Jammu & Kashmir. Second major earthquake in a day. pic.twitter.com/KfteLMA7Fl — Fahad Malik (@Fahad4014) May 9, 2018

Just felt the earthquake in Kashmir Valley.
Hope everyone will safe.#Earthquake #Kashmir — Mauseen Khan (@mauseen_khan) May 9, 2018

No report of any casualty or damage to property has so far been received from anywhere in Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, this is what a seismologist had to say:

Why was this earthquake felt over such a large area?
Reasonably deep rupture - at approx. 100 km depth
This means weaker maximum shaking intensity close to the epicentre compared to a shallower event, but shaking will have been felt over a much wider area. https://t.co/mzCoWceJiX — Stephen Hicks (@seismo_steve) May 9, 2018

Earlier, on Wednesday, another 5.5-magnitude earthquake had jolted northwest Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, injuring at least nine children and causing panic among the residents, PTI reported.

The epicentre of the quake was the northwestern city of Bannu at a depth of 12 kilometres. The temblor was felt in the Swat Valley and Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, Pakistan Meteorological Department was quoted as saying by the Express Tribune.

In April 2018, a 5.6-magnitude earthquake had jolted many towns of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. The epicentre of the quake was at the depth of 200 kilometres in Hindu Kush mountain area of Afghanistan.