Dec 07 , 2015
News
7.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Tajikistan, felt in Pakistan, India
ISLAMABAD – An earthquake of severe intensity jolted different parts of Pakistan including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Peshawar Swat, Nowshera, Abbotabad, Gilgit and Malakand Division on Monday.
According to the US Geological Survey, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Tajikistan afternoon that also hit some parts of Pakistan and India. “An earthquake of 7.2 magnitudes and focal depth of 88km was felt in Pakhtunkhwa, with the epicentre being Tajikistan,” the Provincial Disaster Management Authority confirmed.
“We are in touch with district administrations for reports for damages, none of which have been reported so far,” an official said. But the tremor badly frightened the residents who came out from the houses. “I felt the windows moving and that only happens when there is an earthquake. The room was swinging,” said Sara Seerat, a lawyer in Islamabad.
People at homes and in offices came out fearing the devastating earthquakes that shook Pakistan on October 26, 2015 and in 2005 causing massive loss of lives and damages to property. The Monday tremor hit at 7:50 GMT some 109 kilometres west of the town of Murghob at a depth of 28 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.
The epicentre was located in a remote area some 345 kilometres east of the capital Dushanbe, it added. The quake was also felt in the capital of neighbouring Kyrgyzstan to the north, northern parts of Afghanistan to the south as well as nearby India. The Indian television showed residents in Delhi and Srinagar rushing into the streets.
A spokesman for Tajikistan's Emergencies Committee said it had no information so far on any casualties or damage from the quake. The epicentre of the quake was 111km southwest of Karakul, a sparsely populated mountainous area. A Dushanbe resident said the quake had been felt in the capital, but described it as moderate.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk