Death toll from Tuesday’s Earthquake in Several Parts of Country Rose to 12, including two women and two children, Officials said
All deaths occurred in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). However, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) gave a lower tally of 62 injured from earlier reports of nearly 180. It said 10 houses were destroyed, while 55 were partially damaged.
Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said overnight 6.8-magnitude earthquake had its epicentre in Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan at a depth of 180 kilometres while United States Geological Survey stated 6.5 tremor centred near Jurm in Badakhshan.
K-P has, so far, been worst-affected by strong earthquake that rattled region, including Afghanistan, some parts of Central Asia and India. Overall death toll in region rose to 14.
Tremors were also felt in several cities of Punjab and Balochistan provinces but there were no reports of casualties. However, cracks appeared in several high-rise buildings in Rawalpindi and elsewhere.
K-P PDMA said that intensity of earthquake was high, therefore, immediate emergency measures were taken at major hospitals of Peshawar and elsewhere in province. It added that relief operations were under way in affected districts.
Bilal Faizi, spokesperson for K-P Rescue 1122, said that incidents of walls and roof collapses were received from five districts—Swabi, Chitral, Buner, Lower Dir and Mardan.
“We feared maximum damage due to intensity [of earthquake], that’s why we issued an alert,” Faizi told AFP. “But fortunately our fears proved wrong. Residents panicked due to magnitude of earthquake, but damage was minimal.”
Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration said that no casualty or infrastructural damage has been reported so far. However, it added that one building had been evacuated following reports of cracks, while an investigation was launched.
Tremors were felt across thousands of kilometres in region for 30 seconds around 10pm Tuesday. In Jurm district, near epicentre, no casualties reported despite proximity.
Some 50 houses had collapsed in village located in snow-capped mountains. Elsewhere, Afghan officials reported four dead, including a child, and 74 injured, while 150 houses were damaged in Laghman province.
Meanwhile, parliament in its joint session on Wednesday offered Fateha for those who lost their lives in last night's earthquakes in various parts of the country, martyrs of Angoor Adda encounter and flash floods in Awaran.