Strong 6.2 quake rocks Afghanistan; tremors felt in Pakistan and India

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Strong 6.2 quake rocks Afghanistan; tremors felt in Pakistan and India

Islamabad - There were no immediate reports of any casualties.

By Reuters

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Published: Thu 10 May 2018, 3:00 PM

A strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked northern Afghanistan on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said, creating tremors felt as far away as Pakistan's capital Islamabad and Tajikistan's Dushanbe.  
The quake struck at 1041 GMT near Afghanistan's border with Tajikistan in the Hindu Kush mountains at a depth of 111 kilometres (69 miles), the USGS said. 
It was the second earthquake to shake Afghanistan on Wednesday.
The tremors were felt in "most parts" of the earthquake-prone country, said Mohammad Omar Mohammadi, spokesman for the national disaster management ministry.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties in the northeastern province of Badakhshan where the earthquake was centred.
But in the eastern province of Khost two children were injured when the roof of a house collapsed, Mohammadi said.
AFP correspondents in the capital Kabul felt the ground move for at least a minute in the second quake that came a few hours after the first.
In neighbouring Pakistan's city of Peshawar near the Afghan border people rushed into the streets following the tremor, fearing aftershocks, witnesses told AFP.
Kabul was already on edge after a series of explosions rocked the city earlier in the day.
Suicide bombers and gunmen launched apparent coordinated attacks on two Kabul police stations, with security forces still searching buildings for some of the assailants.
At least two officers were killed and half a dozen civilians were wounded in the attacks, one of which was ongoing, police and health officials said, as the city braces for more violence in the coming days.
Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
Aid agencies have stressed the need for greater disaster preparedness in the war-torn country, which remains extremely susceptible to natural disasters such as floods, quakes and landslides.
A devastating 7.5-magnitude quake that struck Badakhshan in October 2015 triggered landslides and flattened buildings, killing more than 380 people across the region including 248 in Pakistan. 
 

Earthquake jolts Jammu and Kashmir

"A moderate intensity earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale occurred in Jammu and Kashmir at 4.11 p.m.," Sonam Lotus, director of the local Met department told IANS.
"The epicentre of the tremor was in Afghanistan-Tajakistan region. Its latitude was 36.9 degrees north while its longitude was 71.3 degrees east. Its depth was 96 km," he said.

Shock waves were felt in both the Valley and the Jammu region. At many places, people rushed out of homes, offices and other work places in panic. 

No report of any casualty or damage to property has so far been received from anywhere in the state, an official said.   
Tremors were also felt in parts of northern India, including Delhi and Kashmir: 


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