Srinagar, Oct 22, KNT: Panic gripped parts of Jammu and Kashmir late Tuesday night after a strong earthquake, measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale, struck Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region at around 11:45 pm. The tremors, which lasted several seconds, were felt across Srinagar, Baramulla, Ganderbal, Jammu, and parts of Ladakh, forcing people to rush out of their homes.
According to the National Center for Seismology (NCS), the earthquake originated deep within the Hindu Kush mountains, southeast of Fayzabad in Afghanistan, at a depth exceeding 200 kilometres. The deep epicentre minimized the surface-level damage despite the intensity of the quake.
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In Kashmir, ceiling fans, windowpanes, and furniture rattled as the ground shook violently for a few seconds. “It was around midnight when the bed started shaking. We ran out immediately thinking it might be a major one,” said a resident from Srinagar’s Bemina area. Similar reports of panic came from several districts including Pulwama, Shopian, and Kupwara.
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Authorities in the Jammu and Kashmir Disaster Management Department said that emergency control rooms were activated immediately after the tremor. Officials maintained close coordination with the NCS and local administrations to monitor any potential impact. “So far, there have been no reports of casualties or property damage from any district. The situation is being closely observed,” an official said.
The late-night tremor marked the fourth earthquake to jolt the Jammu and Kashmir in less than a month, renewing public concern over the Valley’s increasing seismic activity. Experts have long warned that Jammu and Kashmir, located in a high-intensity seismic zone, remains vulnerable to earthquakes due to its tectonic positioning. [KNT]
