Islamabad: Tremors of a 6.5 magnitude earthquake were felt in Pakistan and Afghanistan on Tuesday, causing people to come out of homes and offices. Not only this, this earthquake scared people even in remote villages. At least nine people have lost their lives due to the earthquake in many parts of both countries.
Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s emergency services, told The Associated Press that more than 100 people were brought to hospitals in a state of shock in the Swat Valley region of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. He said, “These people fell on the ground due to fear and some of them fell due to the tremors of the earthquake.” Faizi said that most of them were discharged from the hospital after preliminary treatment.
Landslide in hilly areas due to earthquake
Faizi and other officials said 11 people were killed after roofs collapsed in different parts of northwestern Pakistan. Dozens of others were injured in the quake centered in Afghanistan. Due to the earthquake, landslides occurred in some hilly areas, which also affected traffic. Earthquake tremors were felt at various places in Pakistan including Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Jhelum, Sheikhupura, Swat, Nowshera, Multan, Swat, and Shangla. Earthquake tremors were also felt in many countries including India, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and China.
Cracks in some apartment buildings in Islamabad
Taimur Khan, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority in the northwest, said at least 19 mud houses collapsed in remote areas. “We are still collecting data about the damage,” he said. The powerful tremor forced many people to flee their homes and offices in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad. During this, some recited verses from the Quran, the holy book of Islam. Media reports suggest that cracks have appeared in some apartment buildings in the city.
The epicenter of the earthquake was Afghanistan
According to the US Geological Services, the epicenter of the 6.5 magnitude earthquake was 40 km southeast of Jurm, Afghanistan. The earthquake occurred at a depth of about 190 km. India’s National Center for Seismology measured the magnitude of the earthquake at 10.17.27 pm (IST) at 6.6. Its center was 133 km south-southeast of Faizabad in northern Afghanistan at a depth of 156 km.
Similar situation in many cities in Afghanistan
The post-earthquake situation in Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan was similar to Pakistan. Kabul resident Shafiullah Azmi said, ‘The earthquake was so strong and terrible, we felt houses falling on us, people were screaming and shocked.’ Rakshinda Tauseed, a doctor, said she was in the eastern Pakistani city of Was in her hospital located in Lahore. He said, ‘I quickly asked the patients to go to a safe place.’
Khurram Shahzad, a resident of Pakistan’s stronghold city of Rawalpindi, said he was eating dinner with his family at a restaurant when the walls started shaking. “I quickly thought it was a big earthquake and we ran out of the restaurant,” he told The Associated Press by phone. He said he saw hundreds of people standing in the streets.
