Mild tremors felt as magnitude 2.7 earthquake strikes of Delhi

NEW DELHI: An earthquake of magnitude 2.7 on the Richter scale struck 17 km west-northwest of Delhi on Wednesday, the National Center for Seismology reported.

In a tweet, the National Center for Seismology stated, "Earthquake of Magnitude:2.7, Occurred on 22-03-2023, 16:42:35 IST, Lat: 28.66 & Long: 77.03, Depth: 5 Km, Location: 17km WNW of New Delhi, India."

Earlier, strong tremors from a 6.6 magnitude earthquake that struck Afghanistan's remote Hindu Kush mountains, jangled nerves and triggered panic across states in the North Indian belt on Tuesday evening.

In Delhi and adjoining areas of the national capital, panicked locals came out on the streets as the tremors struck.

The NCS said an earthquake of magnitude of 6.6 on the Richter Scale hit 133km SSE of Fayzabad, Afghanistan on Tuesday at 10:17 pm. Following the tremours, Delhi Fire Services received calls about tilted buildings and cracks appearing in buildings from Jamia Nagar, Kalkaji and Shahdara areas.

Fire services teams rushed to these areas to take stock of the situation. However, authorities later confirmed that the buildings did not title post the earthquake.

"A PCR call regarding the tilting of a building due to the earthquake was received from the Shakarpur area. Police, PCR, Fire brigade and District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) reached the spot. Apparently, no crack or tilt was observed in the building. The caller said he called as he suspected a tilt," said Delhi Police.