https://arab.news/mp88k
- Tremors felt in capital, northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and eastern Punjab provinces
- 7.6 magnitude quake northeast of Islamabad killed at least 73,000 people in 2005
ISLAMABAD: A 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck parts of Pakistan on Wednesday, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said in a statement, with no immediate reports of damage.
The epicenter of the earthquake was Dera Ghazi Khan in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and the depth was 10 kilometers.
“PDMA received preliminary reports about the earthquake from all districts of Punjab [province],” it said in a statement. “Earthquake tremors felt in other areas of Punjab including [provincial capital] Lahore.”
The quake also shook buildings in the capital, Islamabad. Local media reports said tremors were felt in the cities of Lahore, Islamabad, Mianwali, Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Sargodha, Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat, Swat, North Waziristan, Hangu, Mardan and Malakand, among others.
The PDM did not report any damage, nor did authorities in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
“Administration across Punjab is busy checking buildings,” PDM said, adding that district emergency centers were on high alert. “Machinery and staff have been put on alert to deal with the aftershocks of the earthquake.”
A 7.6 magnitude quake northeast of Islamabad killed at least 73,000 people in 2005. The quake also rocked Indian-administered Kashmir, killing 1,244 there.
In 2013, twin earthquakes, measuring 7.7 and 6.8 magnitude, rattled Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, killing at least 825 people.