Earthquake jolts of 6.2 magnitude have been felt around Pakistan. "The jolts were felt in Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Azad Kashmir and Northern areas of Pakistan,” media reported.
The earthquake was also felt in India. According to NDTV, the location of the earthquake was 81 km southeast of Feyzabad in Afghanistan, as reported by seismological monitors. The US Geological Survey reported the earthquake had a depth of 203.5 kilometres.
#Breaking: #Earthquake in Afghanistan shakes Delhi, rest of north India https://t.co/0b9iDJKrqA pic.twitter.com/6huiutqHjf
— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) December 25, 2015
Tremors were reported from Chandigarh, Srinagar, Jaipur, Delhi and the National Capital Region in India.
The Delhi Police tweeted to say there have not been any calls reporting any damage or casualty as yet.
#Earthquake Tremors in Delhi. No PCR call of any damage or casualty has been reported so far in Delhi.
— Madhur Verma (@DCP_North_Delhi) December 25, 2015 The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake, initially reported as magnitude 6.4, was at a depth of 126.5 miles (203 km) and centered 51 miles (82 km) southeast of the town of Feyzabad, capital of the Afghan province of Badakhshan.
In Pakistan, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government issued a red alert soon after the earthquake but there was no immediate information about loss of life or damage to property.
A magnitude 6.2 quake is considered strong and can cause severe damage. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties but communications can be slow in the mountainous region where the quake was centered.
With harsh winter weather setting in, any widespread destruction of buildings and houses would create severe hardship.
Hamid Nawaz, the head of Pakistan's disaster management authority, said they were still assessing damage. He confirmed that some old homes and walls collapsed in Peshawar, but he refused to share further details.
Some people panicked and ran out of their homes in New Delhi and other parts of northern India. But there were no immediate reports of fatalities or major property damage, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
A magnitude-7.5 quake hit northern Afghanistan and Pakistan on Oct. 26, destroying thousands of houses and killing more than 300 people.
Social media reacts to earthquake
Soon after the earthquake, the social media started getting flooded with posts about the earthquake.
LRH officials say 17 injured brought to hospital after injured in #Earthquake . Others reported 35 people injured alone in #Peshawar
— Javed Aziz Khan (@JavedAzizKhan) December 25, 2015
Moon during #earthquake pic.twitter.com/e2XM4fYUVP
— Shafiq Afridi (@shafiqAfride) December 25, 2015
Terrible #earthquake praying for everyone's safety 6.4?my shocked self says it was stronger
— Maiza Hameed (@MaizaHameed) December 25, 2015
Hope everyone is ok #earthquake
— Bakhtawar B-Zardari (@BakhtawarBZ) December 25, 2015
Stay safe everyone :-( #earthquake
— Sanam Baloch (@SanamBalochfans) December 25, 2015
Security Forces personnel killed as roof of check post caves in during earthquake
A Security Forces personnel was killed during the earthquake in Mohmand Agency.
According to media reports, the roof of a check post at Tehsil Safgorapuri of Mohmand agency collapsed during the earthquake and one security forces person was buried under debris and killed. A heavy contingent of the security forces rushed to the scene and retrieved the body from debris.
The body will be sent to the deceased's native town for burial.
Two injured in earthquake affected building collapse
Two individuals have been injured in an earthquake affected building collapse in Rawalpindi, Waqt News reported. “The incident has occurred in the area of Shamsabad,” media reported.
According to the locals the building was severely damaged because of last night's earthquake. “The local authority has warned the inhabitants about the condition of the building and have asked them to stay out of building,” officials told the media.
