At least 11 people have been killed and hundreds injured after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit areas across Afghanistan and Pakistan, with tremors felt as far as the Indian capital New Delhi.
The earthquake’s epicentre was 40km (25 miles) south-southeast of the Afghan town of Jurm, near the borders with Pakistan and Tajikistan, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said on Tuesday. A strong earthquake rattled the capital and other parts of the country on Tuesday night, sending panicked residents fleeing homes and offices and frightening people even in remote villages.
The 6.8 magnitude quake was primarily felt in northern parts of the country, including Multan, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Muzaffarabad, Peshawar, Haripur, Mardan, Chitral, Charsadda and others.
Initial reports said at least one girl was killed in the Madyan town of Swat district when a wall fell on her. Besides, two people — a man in Islamabad and a 13-year-old girl in Abbottabad — lost their lives due to sudden cardiac arrest after the quake. There were also reports of several injuries.
Around 150 people were injured in Swat, where hospitals had declared a state of emergency, police officer Shafiullah Gandapur told Reuters. Shafiullah Rahimi, a spokesperson for Afghanistan’s disaster mitigation ministry, said two people had been killed in Laghman province.
The earthquake also jolted different cities in Punjab, though no loss of life was immediately reported. Shocks were felt in Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Muzaffargarh, Sahiwal, Okara and other cities.
The US Geological Survey said the quake was centred near Jurm town in north-eastern Afghanis-tan in the Hindukush region and had a depth of 187 kilometres
The Pakistan Meteorological Department said the quake was a magnitude 6.8, whereas the USGS put the magnitude at 6.5.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, several injuries were reported besides the girl’s death in Madyan town.
Five people — including Qaiser Khan, 65, his wife and three children — were injured after the roof of their house collapsed due to the earthquake in Sheikh Jana village of Swabi district, Rescue 1122 officials said. The injured were shifted to the Razaar tehsil headquarters hospital.
According to the KP’s central police office, one person was wounded in Mardan in the limits of Saddar police station, and two people were killed in Shamozai.
On the other hand, the provincial disaster management authority said a landslide near the Karanduke bridge in the Kalam area of Swat blocked the main Bahrain-Kalam Road. KP health department also notified a medical emergency in all hospitals of the province and directed its staff to stay alert.
KKH blocked
The earthquake also jolted the mountainous region of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), where the resultant landslides created fear. However, no loss of life was immediately reported.
Rescue 1122 said landslides damaged a cattle farm in Yasin Ghizer, resulting in the death of livestock.
Besides, sources said landslides have blocked the Karakoram Highway in the Harban area of Kohistan near the border with GB’s Diamer district, stranding several people on both sides.
Videos from Islamabad show panic-stricken people, especially those living in high-rises, rushing out of their homes while reciting Kalma Tayyaba.
Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel directed officials to put Poly Clinic and Pims hospitals on high alert. He asked the hospitals’ administration to prepare themselves to deal with any emergency.
According to initial reports, cracks appeared in the Al-Janaat Mall in Rawalpindi and buildings in Islamabad’s Sector E-11.
A spokesperson for the Punjab Emergency Services said Rescue 1122 officials were launching search and sweep operations across the province. He said they did not receive any call about the damages caused by the earthquake and the provincial monitoring cell was working to handle the situation.
A 6.5 quake can cause severe damage. However, two different earthquakes of the same magnitude can result in vastly different damage and deaths depending on the depth.
Tuesday’s earthquake was among the intermediate ones, which are between 70km and 300km in depth. Shallow quakes are at depths of less than 70km and are the ones that have broader damage.
Shafiullah Rahimi, a spokesperson for Afghanistan’s disaster mitigation ministry, said two people had been killed in eastern Laghman province.
Authorities and aid workers said very strong shaking was felt in Badakhshan and across other northern areas. A spokesperson for Red Cross said they had no immediate reports of damages from Badakhshan’s capital but were making checks on other areas.
Mahzudeen Ahmadi, the head of Badakhshan’s information department, told Reuters they were also checking the province for any casualties but had no reports yet.
“We felt a strong earthquake. According to primary information, the main place (affected) was Yamgan District,” he said.
Some of the mountainous Badakhshan’s remote villages can be difficult to reach and do not have access to phones or the internet.
In Faizabad, 29-year-old Ashraf Nael said he was at home on Tuesday evening when the windows of his family home began rattling strongly for about a minute. “My brothers and sisters all ran outside … we live in a concrete house, those houses which are made from mud might have been damaged,” he said.The US Geological Survey said the quake rocked Afghanistan as well and the quake epicentre was 40 kilometres south-southeast of the Afghan town of Jurm.
According to AFP, witnesses said that the strong earthquake lasting for at least 30 seconds was felt across much of Pakistan on Tuesday night.
“People ran out of their houses and were reciting the Quran,” an AFP correspondent in Rawalpindi said, with similar reports coming from Islamabad, Lahore and elsewhere in the country.
In Multan, highly terrified people came out of their homes,They were already disturbed due to hailstorm which badly hit the crops as well as buildings and vehicles.
Media reported that shocks were felt in Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Jhelum, Sheikhupura, Nowshera, Multan,Muzaffargarh,Khanewal, Vehari, Jhang,Dera Ghazi Khan, Sargodha, Swat, Shangla and other places.
TV footage showed citizens out on the streets from their homes and buildings after the quake shocks were felt.
Rescue 1122 director general Dr Khateer Ahmad said the department had received a phone call each from Swabi and Lower Dir on which rescue teams were despatched.
“No confirmed reports of any loss of life or property have been received yet. Rescue 1122 is on high alert and ready to provide services during any emergency,” he said
So far there have been no confirmed reports of casualties.According to the international seismological centre, apart from Pakistan, tremors were also felt in Turkmenistan, India, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, China, Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Due to the intensity of the earthquake, people came out of their homes in panic in different cities.
At the time of the earthquake, a stampede was also reported in the markets of Rawalpindi.
Punjab
Strong tremors were felt in different cities of Punjab including Lahore, Multan, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Kot Momin, Madh Ranjha, Chakwal, Hattian Bala,Muzaffargarh, Shujaabad, Kallur Kot, Kala Shah Kaku, Wan Bacharan, Daska, Uch Sharif, Darya Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Kot Adu and Lodhran.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
Citizens also felt the tremors in Peshawar, Kohat, Swabi, Kirk, Para Chinar, DI Khan, Mansehra, Abbottabad, and Swat. People in Gilgit-Baltistan and other areas are felt the tremors.
According to Rescue 1122, rescue organisations and volunteers have been alerted to deal with any emergency, while no loss of life or property has been reported from any region or city of the country so far.
Meanwhile, an emergency has been declared in the hospitals of federal capital including Islamabad Polyclinic and PIMS Hospital on the instructions of Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel.
The health minister directed that the staff and the hospital administration must remain on alert to deal with any emergency situation.
Strong tremors jolted parts of north India, including Delhi-NCR, on Tuesday night as an earthquake of magnitude 6.6 struck the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan.
Panic-stricken people rushed out of buildings as the earthquake struck around 10.20 pm and was also felt in Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan.There was no immediate report of any loss of life or property.
According to an automated report generated by the National Centre for Seismology, the 6.6 magnitude quake struck 133 km southeast of Fayzabad in Afghanistan.
People in Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh and towns across Punjab moved out of buildings after they felt tremors.
