6.6 magnitude quake rattles Afghan mountains

A 6.6-magnitude quake struck northeast Afghanistan Sunday, the US Geological Survey said, with tremors also felt in Pakistan and India.

The quake at a depth of 210 kilometers (130 miles) occurred at 2:58 pm (1028 GMT), 282 kilometers (175 miles) northeast of the capital Kabul.

There were no immediate reports of injuries and the USGS said there was a low likelihood of casualties or damage.

The quake was felt for a few seconds in Kabul and in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, where some residents evacuated apartment blocks after tremors shook ceiling fans and furniture.

The quake was also felt in the Indian capital New Delhi, where buildings in the center swayed and the metro train system was halted temporarily as a precaution. People rushed out of their homes in the northern region of Indian-administered Kashmir.

“People are on the streets now and we don’t know whether to go back inside,” said an AFP reporter in Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar.

Last October a 7.5-magnitude quake ripped across Pakistan and Afghanistan, killing almost 400 people and flattening buildings in rugged terrain that impeded relief efforts.

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