Afghanistan Earthquake: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern India Feel 7.5 Magnitude Quake; Over 100 Dead

A massive earthquake hit the northern region of Afghanistan on Monday, leaving many dead and causing destruction throughout Central Asia.

The Associated Press reports that there have been over 100 casualties, mostly in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Tremors were felt as far away as northern India. 

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake had a magnitude of 7.5. Its epicenter was placed in the Hindu Kush Mountains, in the border province of Badakhshan.

The Badakhshan province is a sparsely populated, remote region that often suffers from quakes, as well as mudslides, snowstorms and floods. However, casualty counts are usually low.

Many of the surrounding regions were affected as well. Reports say that 12 girls from a school in the nearby Takhar province were trampled to death as people fled the shaking buildings.

"They were not killed by the collapse of the wall or rooms, but died trying to get out under the feet of the others," a senior official said, according to The Washington Post.

Power was cut in the Afghan capital of Kabul and in the surrounding regions. Telecommunications were disrupted throughout the country.

Many of the residents of Kabul said it was the biggest tremor that they had felt in their lives.

A local news anchor posted a reaction to Facebook after feeling the tremor during a live broadcast.

"I was sitting on an easy chair typing out an assignment when I just felt it go up and down - as if I was on a New York subway on a really rough ride. It was just up and down ... My lunch on the table was literally just popping up and down," a witness in Lahore, Pakistan told NBC News.

"My legs were shaking and my heart was beating out of my chest," another witness said in Islamabad, Pakistan. "I was trying to recite a prayer unknowingly without any sequence of words."