Strong 6.2 magnitude earthquake rocks northeast Afghanistan (Depth 200 km)

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck northeast Afghanistan around midnight near the country's borders with Pakistan and Tajikistan, according to the US Geological Survey.

The quake, which measured 203.5 kilometres (126 miles) deep, struck about 280 kilometres northeast of the Afghan capital Kabul at 11:44 pm (1914 GMT), the USGS said on its website.

It caused buildings to sway in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, an AFP journalist said, and Twitter users as far away as New Delhi said they felt the quake's impact.

Though there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties in Afghanistan, at least 17 people were injured as a result of the quake in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, according to the city's mayor Arbab Mohammad Asim.

• In 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.

For many in Pakistan, October's quakebrought back traumatic memories of a 7.6-magnitude quake that struck in October 2005, killing more than 75,000 people and displacing some 3.5 million.

Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

In Nepal a quake in April and a strong aftershock in May killed more than 8,900 people.
(AFP)
NEWZ,GR
25/12/15
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Magnitude    Mw 6.2
Region    HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
Date time    2015-12-25 19:14:47.0 UTC
Location    36.52 N ; 71.26 E
Depth    200 km
Distances :

•    280 km N of Peshāwar, Pakistan / pop: 1,218,773 / local time: 00:14:47.0 2015-12-26

• 90 km SE of Fayzabad, Afghanistan / pop: 44,421 / local time: 23:44:47.0 2015-12-25

• 39 km SW of Ishqoshim, Tajikistan / pop: 26,000 / local time: 00:14:47.0 2015-12-26 

  [emsc-csem.org]
25/12/15
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