At least 13 people have been killed and more than 40 injured after a powerful 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit large regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan on Tuesday night.
Notable quake, preliminary info: M 6.5 – 40 km SSE of Jurm, Afghanistan https://t.co/wxZ5D1GFQs
— USGS Earthquakes (@USGS_Quakes) March 21, 2023
Tremors of several seconds were also reported in Delhi and other parts of North India. The earthquake’s epicentre was close to Jurm in northeastern Afghanistan, roughly 300 km north of Kabul and not far from the country’s borders with Tajikistan.
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake has been felt across much of Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of India.
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 21, 2023
At least 3 people have been killed – two in Afghanistan and one in Pakistan according to police and officials ⤵️
🔴 LIVE coverage: https://t.co/j6JZqNM4dv pic.twitter.com/gQ7e0T0Q5z
Nine of the confirmed fatalities were recorded in the valley region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. The nine people who died in northwest Pakistan included five men, two women, and two children. They died as a result of roof collapses in various areas of northwest Pakistan.
More than 200 people in the Swat valley and other parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan were taken to hospitals in a state of shock. “These terrified people collapsed, and some of them collapsed because of the shock of the earthquake,” informed Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s emergency services.
Four others were killed, including a child, in Afghanistan in the Laghman province near the country’s border with Pakistan. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Taliban said that all health centers were on standby.
Earlier, Sharafat Zaman Amar, the Taliban’s designated spokesperson for the public health ministry, announced that the earthquake in Afghanistan had so far claimed at least two lives and injured about 20 others.
He added, “Unfortunately, there could be more casualties as the quake was so powerful, in most parts of the country and all hospitals and health facilities are ready to save the lives of people.” Many families were out of their homes celebrating the Persian New Year or Nowruz when the disaster struck.
Indian netizens posted about the tense occurrence on social media. Journalist Richa Anirudh shared a video of her house during the earthquake.
My House shook like this👇 #earthquake pic.twitter.com/2dRKpDHnlV
— richa anirudh (@richaanirudh) March 21, 2023
A user showed residents of housing societies moving out of their homes as a precautionary step.
Whole Noida is out of their Homes #Earthquake pic.twitter.com/Ls7jLIWFlR
— Bhupinder Soni (@Bhupinder_35) March 21, 2023
Another tried to lighten the mood amidst the scary situation.
Thank God.
— Major D P Singh (@MajDPSingh) March 21, 2023
Bach gayi 😜😜😄😄
Hope this brings a smile on tense faces. #earthquake pic.twitter.com/do0PDYF3RL
The Delhi Fire Department received some reports of tilting buildings in Delhi, and teams reached the spot to investigate. According to Delhi Fire Service (DFS) Director Atul Garg, a call was received in the Shakarpur area on Vikas Marg in east Delhi, but ‘no tilting of the building was found.’
Delhi police called it a ‘hoax call’ and clarified that ‘there was already a gap in the building.’ They also mentioned that there was no damage due to the earthquake.
Delhi: The building in Shakarpur was already made like that as there was gap already. No damage due to earthquake. It was a hoax call. Situation is under control. We checked building from top to bottom & there’s no problem, says a Civil Defence volunteer in Shakarpur#earthquake pic.twitter.com/sbcU7cs7jv
— ANI (@ANI) March 21, 2023
Several anti-India & Pak accounts took it as an opportunity to post fake news using photos and videos of the Turkey earthquake to create panic in India.
Another one.
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) March 21, 2023
These are the old photos of 2019 earthquake in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). pic.twitter.com/W9sWDJ6HGN
The deadliest earthquake to hit Afghanistan in nearly 25 years rocked the Paktika province in June of last year, killing more than 1,000 people. Due to its location at the confluence of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, this area is more susceptible to experience earthquakes.
Last month, a massive earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria. It was the largest earthquake in Turkey since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake. It was felt as far as Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Cyprus, and the Black Sea coast of Turkey. There were more than 10,000 aftershocks in the three weeks that followed the catastrophe.
