Strong earthquake tremors rattled Chandigarh and the tricity region on Friday night, triggering widespread panic as residents — particularly those in high-rise apartments and multi-storey housing societies — abandoned their homes and spilled onto streets and open grounds.The quake, recorded at around 9.46 pm IST, measured 5.9 on the Richter scale. Its epicentre was located near the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border in the Hindu Kush region, at 71.01 degrees East and 36.52 degrees North, as per the National Centre for Seismology (NCS).The NCS placed the focal depth at 75 km. Seismologists noted that the considerable depth of the hypocentre was responsible for the wide propagation of tremors across the region — strong enough to be felt across multiple states yet without causing major surface destruction at the epicentre.The tremors were felt across Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Noida, Ludhiana, Poonch, Srinagar, Udhampur and Dehradun, among other places. Residents of high-rise towers in Chandigarh’s sectors and adjoining areas of Mohali reported perceptible shaking lasting several seconds, with light fixtures swaying and household objects rattling. People rushed out of buildings in panic.Till the filing of this report, no casualties or structural damage were reported from Chandigarh, Mohali or Panchkula. Emergency services were placed on alert and authorities kept a close watch on the situation. People have been advised to remain calm, avoid lifts and move to open spaces in the event of subsequent tremors.Why Hindu Kush quakes shake North IndiaThe Hindu Kush sits astride one of the world’s most seismically restless zones, where the Indian Plate subducts beneath the Eurasian Plate — a collision that generates frequent deep-focus earthquakes. Key fault systems in the zone, including the Herat Fault, Chaman Fault, Main Pamir Thrust and the Paghman Fault west of Kabul, collectively drive regional shortening and strike-slip motion. Deep-focus quakes in this zone routinely radiate seismic energy across vast distances, enabling tremors to be felt well over 1,000 km away in the plains of North India.Friday night’s event was the second occasion this year that tremors originating in the Afghan Hindu Kush were felt across the region.