Earthquake death toll in KP reaches 10

PESHAWAR: Ten people were killed and 62 injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as houses and walls collapsed due to the earthquake that jolted different parts of the country on Tuesday at about 9:47pm.

The massive 6.8 magnitude tremor was not only felt in different cities of the three provinces i.e. Punjab, KP and Balochistan but also in Afghanistan, India, China and the Central Asian States.

In panic, people came out of homes reciting Kalma Tayyaba during the earthquake that lasted for about 30 seconds.

In KP, the quake caused the death of 10 people and injures 62 more while 10 houses were fully damaged and 55 partially damaged.

Houses and walls collapse caused the deaths and injuries.

Those killed included five male, three female and two children as per the information collected by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) so far.

Three men were killed in Bajaur and one each in Khyber and Swat, two females in Swat and one in Lower Dir while two children, one each in Lower Dir and Abbottabad were killed as houses collapsed due the quake.

The injured included 19 male, two each from Mardan, Swabi and Upper Dir, one each from Bajaur, Buner and Shangla and five each from Lower Dir and Kurram, 17 female from Lower Dir, five from Kurram, three from Malakand, two from Shangla, one each from Upper Chitral, Khyber and Upper Dir while three children each from Swabi, Malakand and Lower Dir, one each from Charsadda, Buner, Upper Dir and Orakzai got injuries due to house or wall collapse.

The tremor also caused damage to 65 houses, 10 fully and 55 partially, so far confirmed by the district administrations.

In Upper Dir, 10 houses were fully damaged and 22 partially followed by six in Charsadda, five in Haripur, three each in Mardan and Bajaur, two each in Khyber and Buner, one each in Swabi, Malakand, Lower Chitral, Swat and Mansehra.

Mainly mud-houses were damaged or collapsed because of the severe shakes. The PDMA asked the district administration to collect information about the casualties and damage to properties.

It directed the relevant officials to pay compensation to the affected families.

The PDMA on the directives of chief secretary asked the district administrations to ensure payment of compensation to the victim families under the 2019 relief policy after completing necessary requirements.

Following the tremor, PDMA had asked the people to send information about any untoward emergency situation on helpline 1700 or 1122 for urgent help.