New Delhi:
Earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 on the Richter scale has hit northern Afghanistan, with shaking felt as far away as Kabul, Islamabad, Lahore, Uzbekistan, Dushanbe and New Delhi, reported bnonews.com. It is to be noted that the earthquake, which struck at 6:15 am (IST) on Thursday, was centred in the Hindu Kush mountain range, about 236 kilometres northeast of Kabul, or 417 kilometres northwest of Islamabad.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.8. It struck about 222 kilometres below the surface, which caused shaking to be felt across a very large region.
Neither serious damage, nor casualties were reported. However, people in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and India reported witnessing the earthquake. Many said the earthquake was strong enough to wake them up.
It is worth mentioning here that Afghanistan and Pakistan are regularly hit by moderate and strong earthquakes, especially around the Hindu Kush mountain range. At least 79,000 people were killed in October 2005 as a powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Recently, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck in the Pacific off Fukushima, northeastern Japan. The quake jolted large areas in the region at 7:23 pm (1023 GMT) with its epicentre located 54 kilometres (34 miles) east of Namie, eastern Fukushima, according to the US Geological Survey said. The quake was also felt in Tokyo. There was no report of injuries or damage.
Back in July this year, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter scale jolted East Kameng area of Arunachal Pradesh at 4:24 AM (IST). It was the second quake that hit the north-eastern region of India. No loss of life or damage to property reported.
