
Strong tremors were felt in Delhi and other parts of north India as an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 6.5 struck Afghanistan on Tuesday night. People across various parts of north India rushed out of their homes and on to the streets as tremors lasted for several seconds.
The epicentre of the earthquake was near Jurm in northeastern Afghanistan, about 300 km north of Kabul, quite close to Afghanistan’s borders with Tajikistan, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
Many people also shared videos on social media showing furniture swaying and ceiling fans rattling in their homes. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also took to Twitter to apprise citizens of strong tremors being felt across Delhi NCR. “Strong tremors of the earthquake were felt across Delhi NCR. Hope you all are safe,” Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.
पूरे दिल्ली NCR में भूकंप के तेज़ झटके महसूस किए गए। आशा करता हूँ कि आप सभी सुरक्षित होंगे। https://t.co/7EPQ0XHh8s
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 21, 2023
While many people shared videos of their house during the earthquake, many videos also showed residents of housing societies moving out of their homes as a precautionary step. Some netizens took to memes to share their predicament as people usually flock to Twitter to confirm if there is an earthquake.
See some of the reaction on social media below:
My House shook like this? #earthquake pic.twitter.com/2dRKpDHnlV
— richa anirudh (@richaanirudh) March 21, 2023
Whole Noida is out of their Homes #Earthquake pic.twitter.com/Ls7jLIWFlR
— Bhupinder Soni (@Bhupinder_35) March 21, 2023
Delhi people coming on Twitter to check if there was an #Earthquake pic.twitter.com/qswKYggwcK
— Himanshu Pareek (@Sports_Himanshu) March 21, 2023
Thank God.
Bach gayi ????
Hope this brings a smile on tense faces. #earthquake pic.twitter.com/do0PDYF3RL
— Major D P Singh (@MajDPSingh) March 21, 2023
People explaining how dangerous the earthquake was. Meanwhile me#earthquake #भूकंप pic.twitter.com/dSmFSX0jbK
— ???????? (भारतवासी) (@mauryaspeakss) March 21, 2023
Initial reports said the tremors were felt in India, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, China, Afghanistan, and Kyrgyzstan. The earthquake was deep, with its origin 187.6 km below the earth’s surface, the USGS said. Deep earthquakes tend to be felt over large distances, which is why tremors were experienced in Punjab, Rajasthan’s Jaipur, and Jammu and Kashmir.