[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]On Tuesday evening, a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 jolted several parts of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the magnitude of the earthquake was 6.8 on the Richter scale, with the epicentre located at a depth of 180 kilometres in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region (PMD).
An earthquake originated on 21-03-2023 at 21:47 PST
Mag: 6.8
Depth: 180 km
Lat: 36.51 N
Long: 70.96 E
Epicentre: Hindukush Region, Afghanistan.PMD Islamabad.
— PDMAKP OFFICIAL (@PDMAKP) March 21, 2023
Initial reports indicate that tremors were felt in a number of cities, including Islamabad, Peshawar, Charsadda, Lahore, Rawalpindi, and others.
At least five members of a family were injured in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) after their house’s roof collapsed in Swabi, while the Bahrain-Kalam Road was closed due to landslides caused by the earthquake.
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Apart from Pakistan, tremors were felt in Turkmenistan, India, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, China, Afghanistan, and Kyrgyzstan, according to the international seismological centre.
People in various cities fled their homes in fear due to the magnitude of the earthquake.
At the time of the earthquake, a stampede was also reported in the markets of Rawalpindi.
Punjab
Strong tremors were felt in different cities of Punjab including Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Kot Momin, Madh Ranjha, Chakwal, Hattian Bala, Kot Addo, Shujaabad, Kallur Kot, Kala Shah Kaku, Wan Bacharan, Daska, Och Sharif, Darya Khan, DG Khan, Kot Addu and Lodhran.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
The tremors were also felt in Peshawar, Kohat, Swabi, Kirk, Para Chinar, DI Khan, Mansehra, Abbottabad, and Swat. The tremors were felt by people in Gilgit-Baltistan and other areas.
Rescue organisations and volunteers have been alerted to deal with any emergency, according to Rescue 1122, and no loss of life or property has been reported from any region or city of the country thus far.
Meanwhile, on the orders of Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel, an emergency has been declared in the federal capital’s hospitals, including Islamabad Polyclinic and PIMS Hospital.
The health minister directed that the staff and hospital administration remain on high alert in case of an emergency.
Balochistan
Tremors were also felt in different areas of Balocistan including Manjhipur, Dera Allahyar and Jafarabad.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) put the administration on alert and directed to take precautionary measures in all hospitals to deal with any emergency.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
