Earthquake in northern Afghanistan kills eight

Kabul: At least eight people have been killed in a 5.9-magnitude earthquake that struck northern Afghanistan, Mohammad Yousuf Hammad, a spokesman for the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority, said.

A house in Kabul province collapsed following the quake, killing eight residents and injuring a child, Hammad said late Friday night.

Strong tremors were also felt in the capital, Kabul. The epicentre, with a depth of 186.4 km, was initially determined to be at 36.55 degrees north latitude and 70.85 degrees east longitude, Xinhua news agency reported.

Earthquake tremors were felt across Delhi-NCR and several parts of North India on Friday night, triggering panic among residents who rushed out of homes and office buildings.

The tremors were reported from multiple locations, including Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Faridabad, as well as parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and adjoining regions.

Residents had reported feeling sudden jerks while seated, with furniture and hanging objects swaying. Many people said the shaking lasted for a few seconds but was strong enough to be clearly felt indoors.

In several residential areas, people stepped out of their homes as a precaution, while office-goers briefly evacuated buildings. People gathered in open spaces, waiting for further updates.

Afghanistan is prone to a range of natural disasters, but its earthquakes cause the most fatalities, killing about 560 people on average each year and causing annual damages estimated at $80 million. Studies indicate at least 355 earthquakes with a magnitude higher than 5.0 have hit Afghanistan since 1990.

Afghanistan is located on the edge of the Eurasian tectonic plate, which shares a transgression zone with the Indian plate – implying the two may converge or brush past each other – and is also influenced by the Arabian plate to its south, creating one of the world’s most tectonically active regions.

The northward movement of the Indian plate and its thrust against the Eurasian plate is usually responsible for Afghanistan’s numerous quakes.

Eastern and northeastern Afghanistan, especially regions along its borders with Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan, are particularly prone to earthquakes.

This includes heavily populated Kabul, which has the highest average estimated damage due to earthquakes, amounting to $17 million every year, according to a study.

Earthquakes are also particularly dangerous in Afghanistan’s mountains where they can trigger landslides, exacerbating loss of life and property.

IANS