A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 struck Afghanistan's Hindu Kush region on Tuesday i.e. March 21, resulting in the loss of nine lives in Pakistan.
The quake's impact was also felt in northern India, causing strong tremors. The United States Geological Survey reported that the epicentre of the earthquake was in Afghanistan's Jurm, located at a depth of 180 kilometres.
At 10:17 pm, the National Centre for Seismology reported that an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter Scale had occurred 133km SSE of Fayzabad, Afghanistan.
The tremors from the earthquake were felt strongly in various states of North India including Delhi-NCR, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
Delhi's Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, took to Twitter to respond to the quake, saying, "Hope you all are safe as strong tremors were felt across Delhi-NCR."
According to a senior seismologist, the prolonged tremors felt by residents in northwest India and Delhi were due to the fault's depth exceeding 150 km.
The seismologist added that people in northern India felt the primary waves first followed by the secondary waves.
Panic-stricken residents of Delhi rushed to the streets after noticing the tremors lasting several minutes.
So far, there have been no reports of any loss of life or property in India.
Several districts of Rajasthan including Jaipur, Sikar, and Karauli also experienced earthquake tremors, prompting people to flee their homes and call one another to spread the news.
Residents in Bikaner, Jodhpur, Alwar, Ganganagar, Ajmer, and Jhunjhunu also rushed out of their homes and alerted their friends and family to ensure everyone's safety.
