KATHMANDU:  A moderate earthquake, which the United States Geological Survey said was of magnitude 5.6, hit the Uttarkashi region in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, which borders Nepal and China, on Monday night.

Recorded at 10:33 pm IST, its tremors were felt in many parts of north India,  including New Delhi, Gurgaon and Punjab, and as far as Madhya Pradesh, according to media reports.

It is reported that it was a shallow earthquake with a depth of 7 km.

The earthquake pegged the magnitude at 5.8 and put the epicentre in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, close to India's border with China and Nepal, news agency Reuters reported from New Delhi.

I was at near of centre of #earthquake..it was so scary..

— gaurav singh (@3gauravsingh7) February 6, 2017

Near centre of #earthquake in rudraprayag uttrakhand pic.twitter.com/ZeXTDRvgan

— gaurav singh (@3gauravsingh7) February 6, 2017

"The quake was quite heavy. It lasted for 25 or 30 seconds, but there are no reports of damage so far received," the report quoted Ashok Kumar, a senior police official in the state capital Dehradun.

Amit Negi, the secretary of disaster management in the state said they had alerted all districts and were coordinating with them, but that there were no reports of damage so far, according to Reuters.

Office of India's Home Minister tweeted that the Ministry was closely monitoring the situation in the earthquake-hit region and  NDRF teams have been rushed from Ghaziabad to Uttarakhand to conduct rescue and relief operations, if the situation arises.

Spoke to officials & took stock of the situation in the wake of the earthquake felt in various parts of North India.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 6, 2017

PMO is in touch with officials in Uttarakhand, which is the epicentre of the quake. I pray for everyone's safety & wellbeing.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 6, 2017

The MHA is closely monitoring the situation in earthquake hit Uttarakhand and other north Indian states where the tremors have been felt.

— HMO India (@HMOIndia) February 6, 2017

The NDRF teams have been rushed from Ghaziabad to Uttarakhand to conduct rescue and relief operations, if the situation arises.

— HMO India (@HMOIndia) February 6, 2017

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