The epicentre of the quake was in the Hindu Kush region
ISLAMABAD: An earthquake of 5.8 magnitude jolted parts of the country, including Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and other cities on Saturday night, Geo News reported.
According to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre, Islamabad, the earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale jolted parts of the country, while its epicentre was located near Tajikistan and Afghanistan’s border.
The earthquake was recorded at a depth of 196 kilometres in the Hindu Kush mountain range. Residents were reported to have rushed out of their homes in panic following the tremors, however no damages or casualties were reported.
The other cities that were struck by the earthquake include Bannu, DI Khan, Swat, Diamer, Chilas, Nowshera, Mansehra, Lower Dir, Dir Bala, Mianwali, and Malakand. Besides, strong tremors were also felt in India’s Delhi and its neighbouring areas.
According to the Indian media, tremors were felt in many areas of northern India, including the areas of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) and Punjab.
Natural disasters, such as earthquakes are not uncommon in Pakistan, as the country is situated on the boundary of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
Large parts of South Asia are seismically active, because a tectonic plate known as the Indian plate is pushing north into the Eurasian plate. Recent earthquakes underscore the importance of disaster preparedness and mitigation measures.