New Delhi: A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck in Tajikistan on Friday with tremors felt in Delhi, Kashmir and a number of places in North India where people were seen overnight rushig out of their homes.
The earthquake struck at 10:31 pm IST at a depth of 74 km from the surface. The epicentre of the earthquake was in Tajikistan - about 450 km from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, according to India's National Center for Seismology.
Latest reports coming from Kashmir said, several structures have developed cracks due to the temblor.
There are also reports of widespread panic caused by the earthquake with locals at many places in the Valley spending a sleepless night fearing after shocks.
Officials of the disaster management authority said:
"A strong earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale occurred in J&K at 10.34 p.m. on Friday.
Authorities however have so far not reported any casualty due to the strong earthquake that shook the Valley causing fear and panic.
"The epicentre of the earthquake was in Tajikistan with its latitude 31.57 degrees north and longitude 75.09 degrees east. It occurred 10 Kilometres inside the earth's crust", officials said.
Earthquakes measuring 6 to 6.9 on the Richter scale are seismologically classified as of 'strong' magnitude.
Kashmir has a history of devastations caused by earthquakes because the Valley is situated in a highly earthquake prone region.
Over 80,000 people were killed on two sides of the line of control (LoC) in Kashmir Aby an earthquake that occurred on October 8, 2005 with a magnitude of 7.3 on the Richter scale.
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