At least 50+ Dead, Hundreds Injured as 7.5 Earthquake Hits North India, Pakistan, Afghanistan

A powerful earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale shook north India a little after 2.30 pm on Monday. Massive tremors lasting almost a minute were reported in Delhi, Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.

Strong tremors were also reported in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where at least 70 people have died and hundreds are injured, say reports.

The 7.5 quake's epicentre was in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan. The earthquake occurred over 150 km deep in the earth.  

"Heard about strong earthquake in Afghanistan-Pakistan region whose tremors have been felt in parts of India. I pray for everyone's safety," tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is campaigning in Bihar, where assembly elections are being held.

People rushed out of offices and homes as buildings shook in national capital Delhi. The Delhi Metro halted services for 15 minutes as a precautionary measure.

The United States Geological Survey said the earthquake's epicenter was in the far northern Afghan province of Badakhshan, which borders Tajikistan and China. USGS said the quake was 132.3 miles deep and 45 miles south of the Badakhshan capital, Fayzabad.

Rescue officials said 29 of the dead were killed in Pakistan.  At least 21 people were killed and 200 were injured in various parts of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and another 8 were killed in the Bajur region bordering Afghanistan.

In Takhar province, west of Badakhshan, at least 12 students at a girls' school were killed in a stampede as they fled shaking buildings, said Sonatullah Taimor, the spokesman for the provincial governor. Another 30 girls were taken to the hospital in the provincial capital of Taluqan.

In Pakistan, at least five people died when homes collapsed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said Mohammad Bilal, a rescue official. He said more than 100 people were wounded in the area. State-run Pakistani TV had earlier reported that a person died when a roof collapsed in the eastern city of Kasur, bringing the total known toll from the quake to 18.

In Badakhshan itself, "there are reports of casualties and destruction" in some remote districts near the epicenter, said the provincial director of the Afghan National Disaster Management Authority, Abdullah Humayoon Dehqan.

Badakhshan's deputy chief of police, Sakhi Dad Haidari, said dozens of houses had been destroyed in two remote and sparsely populated rural districts, with some damage reported in Fayzabad.

Power was cut across much of the Afghan capital of Kabul, where tremors were felt for around 45 seconds. Houses shook, walls cracked and cars rolled in the street. Officials in the capital could not be immediately reached as telephones appeared to be cut across the country.

Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah called an emergency meeting of the disaster management authority to assess the damage, his senior adviser Omar Samad tweeted.

In Pakistan, Zahid Rafiq, an official with the meteorological department, said the quake was felt across the country. In Islamabad, buildings shook and people poured into the streets in a panic, with many reciting verses from the Koran.

"I was praying when the massive earthquake rattled my home. I came out in a panic," said Munir Anwar, a resident of Liaquat Pur in the eastern Punjab province.

Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Raheel Sharif, ordered troops to the quake-affected areas, the military said in a statement. It gave no further details.

The quake was also felt in the Indian capital New Delhi, though no damage was immediately reported. Office buildings swayed and workers who had just returned from lunch ran out of buildings and gathered in the street or in parking lots.

In Srinagar, the main city in the India-controlled portion of disputed Kashmir, the tremors lasted at least 40 seconds, with buildings swaying and electrical wires swinging wildly, residents said.

"First I thought somebody had banged the door. But within seconds, the earth began shaking below my feet, and that's when I ran out of the building," said government official Naseer Ahmed.

People ran outside, shouting, crying and chanting religious hymns in an effort to keep calm. "I thought it was the end of the world," shopkeeper Iqbal Bhat said.

Srinigar police Inspector General Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gilani said there were no immediate reports of casualties, but that "some bridges and buildings have been damaged," including a cracked highway overpass.

source @ facebook