7.2 magnitude earthquake hits Tajikistan; tremors felt in Delhi, North India

Mild tremors rocked Delhi and NCR region on Monday.

Delhi: Strong 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Tajikistan in Central Asia on Monday with tremors being felt in North India.

Tremors were also felt in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

At the same time, tremors were felt in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

As per the US Geological Survey, the tremor hit at 7:50 GMT (1320 IST) some 109 kilometers west of the town of Murghob at a depth of 28 kilometers.

Operations Head, Centre For Seismology also confirmed to ANI, "Epicentre was Tajikistan. Was felt in many regions of North India."

As per reports, people evacuated buildings in Srinagar, and Chandigarh after tremors were felt in the region.

Meanwhile, Tajikistan's emergency situations committee told AFP there had been no reports of casualties.

The Tajik seismological service also reported that the epicentre of the quake was just 22 kilometres from the high altitude Lake Sarez.

Sarez, formed following an earthquake in 1911 and containing some 17 cubic kilometres of water, is considered a major threat to the region if its dams break as a result of seismic activity.

As per experts, active faults and resultant earthquakes in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan occur because of convergence between South Asian and Eurasia plates.

On October 26 this year, at least 200 people were killed and more than 1,300 others injured when a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake - the strongest in 10 years - had rocked Pakistan, sending severe shock waves as far as Punjab and PoK.

At that time, the quake's epicentre was located near Jurm in northeast Afghanistan, 250 kilometres from Kabul and at a depth of 213.5 kms.

(With Agency inputs)