According to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre, Islamabad, the epicentre of the earthquake was the Tajikistan border and it hit 223 kilometers underground. Tremors were felt in Sharda, Keil, Halmat, Dudhniyal and Sheikh Bela areas of Upper Neelum Valley.
In areas where the tremors were felt more acutely, people thronged out of their houses praying for safety.Meanwhile, the US Geological Survey, an American government agency that tracks seismic activity across the globe, said that a 5.2 magnitude earthquake had struck 35km southeast of Jurm, Afghanistan.
Hindustan Times reported that “mild earthquake tremors” were felt in New Delhi and its adjoining areas. The publication said that tremors were also felt in Punjab and Haryana, as well as in occupied Kashmir’s Srinagar and Poonch.
In March, at least two people were killed while six injured as a 6.8 magnitude earthquake had jolted parts of the country.
The US Geological Survey said the quake rocked Afghanistan and parts of India as well, including the capital New Delhi, adding that the quake epicentre was 40 kilometres south-southeast of the Afghan town of Jurm.
Earlier this year, an earthquake of 6.8 magnitude on the Richter scale jolted parts of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, claiming the lives of at least two people and injuring 180 others.
Recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria have raised many questions about whether the conditions of the infrastructure we have in Pakistan are safe enough, and if our region faces a seismic catastrophe of similar magnitude or even an earthquake of low intensity.
According to the World Bank, since the earthquake of 2005, seismic risks in Pakistan have only increased. In its Fiscal Disaster Risk Assessment Options for Consideration the World Bank assesses that “if the 2005 earthquake were to occur today, it could cost nearly twice as much — $2.8 billion — in damages to residential properties alone.”
QUAKES IN THE PAST 48 HOURS:
1 quake above magnitude 6
8 quakes between magnitude 5 and 6
45 quakes between magnitude 4 and 5
227 quakes between magnitude 3 and 4
463 quakes between magnitude 2 and 3
1139 quakes below magnitude 2 that people normally don't feel.
