ISLAMABAD: A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck parts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday night, according to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre.
The quake’s epicentre was Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region with a depth of 196 kilometres and it occurred around 9:02pm, the earthquake monitoring agency said.
No loss of life or property has been reported so far.
The quake was felt in Islamabad, Peshawar, Dir, Malakand, Bajaur, Swat, Kohat, Mansehra, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, DI Khan, Mirpur, Daudkhel, Chiniot, Parachinar, Nankana Sahib, Sahiwal, Chichawatni and Battagram.
Media reported that tremors were also felt in the Indian capital and its surrounding areas, northern parts of the country and occupied Kashmir.
The disaster management authority in Pakistan’s Punjab said in a statement administrations across the province were checking buildings while machinery and staff had been put on alert to deal with the aftershocks.
In Peshawar, people came out of their homes and shops in fear. The earthquake was the third one that was felt in the northern areas of Pakistan, he said, citing data from the US Geological Survey (USGS).
Tremors were felt in KP earlier today when, according to the USGS, a 4.1 magnitude earthquake occurred at 6:58am at a depth of 241.8km with its epicentre in Tajikistan. The second earthquake occurred at 1:06pm and had a magnitude of 5.0. Its epicentre was in KP’s Shangla and depth was measured at 43.5km.
Last month, an earthquake of magnitude 5.6 had struck parts of India and Pakistan on June 13. The quake was at a depth of 10km with its epicentre in Eastern Kashmir.
