Magnitude 5 earthquake kills one in Pakistan

KARACHI: A series of small earthquakes hit southern Pakistan on Friday, killing at least one person and injuring 30 others, officials said. Three shallow quakes struck near the city of Nawabshah in Sindh province in the space of an hour starting at 3:51 a.m. (2251 GMT Thursday), sending frightened residents running into the streets praying for their lives.
The most powerful tremor was measured at 5 magnitude, an official in the meteorological department told AFP.
A devastating 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Pakistan-administered Kashmir in October 2005, killing more than 73,000 people and leaving around 3.5 million homeless.
Last September a 7.7-magnitude hit Awaran district in southwestern Baluchistan province, killing at least 376 people and leaving 100,000 others homeless.
Pakistani meteorologist Toseef Ahmed said the epicenter of the quake was 27 km north of Nawabshah. The US Geological Survey said the temblor had a preliminary magnitude of 4.3 and struck some 12 km north of Nawabshah. Such figures are common just after a quake.
Mohammed Hashim, a doctor at a main government hospital, said dozens of people with head injuries and broken bones were brought to their hospital, and at least five of them were listed in a critical condition. Sheikh said at least 25 mud-brick homes collapsed in the quake-hit district and authorities still were assessing the damage.
Earlier, local television stations in Pakistan reported that walls came down and people fled their homes with their children.
Witness Shamas Keerio told The Associated Press by telephone that he was sleeping with his family in his home when quake struck. “I thought as if I am sitting in a boat and it is facing a storm,” Keerio said. “The walls of our home started swaying, and I quickly came out along with my family members.” Keerio said his family felt aftershocks as well.
Pakistan is often hit by earthquakes. In September 2013, a 7.7-magnitude quake struck its province of Baluchistan, killing at least 376 people and pushing a new island up in the Arabian Sea.