Earthquake in Andaman and Nicobar: An earthquake of magnitude 5.6 on the Richter scale shook the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Tuesday morning. The tremors were felt around 8:09 AM in the region but no casualties or damage were reported. The Indian Meteorological Department said in a preliminary report that the epicentre of the quake was 12.3 degrees North latitude and 93.0 degrees East longitude. This was the second earthquake in Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the last 2 months. On January 14, the islands witnessed a moderate earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter Scale. The epicentre of the quake, that occurred at 9.28 pm, was a point at 10 degrees North latitude and 93.1 degrees East longitude, the IMD had said in the report.
Last month, on January 31, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake had struck Afghanistan whose tremors were felt in Delhi and neighbouring Haryana and Punjab. The tremors that lasted a few seconds were strongly felt in Jammu and Kashmir as well. According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake measuring 6.1 struck at a depth of 190 km in the Hindu Kush region.
The earthquake had caused panic in the National Capital where frightened people ran out of their homes, shops and offices. Many posted on social media that they felt the tremors. The Delhi Metro operations were also halted for a brief period. Similar scenes were witnessed in Srinagar where people came out on roads in panic. A girder of an under-construction flyover slipped off pillars near Aloochibagh in Srinagar after the quake, an official told news agency PTI.
In Pakistan, at least one infant was killed while nine of her family members were injured in Balochistan province. “The injured have been rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. Emergency has been declared in all hospitals,” a local official had said. Rescue teams were also dispatched to the nearby Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to assess reports of damage.