Earthquake jolts parts of Punjab, KP, Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Several parts of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the federal capital were jolted after a 5.7 magnitude of earthquake triggered tremors on Tuesday.

Confirming the tremors, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), said that the earthquake was recorded at magnitude 5.7 on the Richter’s scale and originated at 12:28pm Pakistan Standard Time (PST).

The epicentre of the quake, the Met Office added, was located near the Dera Ghazi Khan region in the southwestern part of Punjab at a depth of 10 kilometres.

However, United States Geological Survey stated that the extent of the quake was recorded at magnitude 5.4, affecting India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The Punjab cities that were jolted by the earthquake included Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Mianwali, Bhakkar, Kamalia, Khanewal, Bhalwal, Chiniot, Hafizabad, Toba Tek Singh, Gujarat, Sargodha and Jhang among other cities.

Meanwhile, the KP cities included Peshawar, Swat, North Waziristan, DI Khan, Lakki Marwat, Buner, Shangla and Chitral among others.

Today’s tremors come nearly two weeks after a 5.4 magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Islamabad, Rawalpindi and KP on August 29.

The quake in August was preceded by another one of 4.7 magnitude which jolted parts of Islamabad, Rawalpindi and KP in June. Earlier that month, another earthquake of 3.2 magnitude rocked Karachi.

In May, a 2.3 magnitude earthquake jolted parts of the metropolis including Gadap Town, Katohar and adjoining areas of Malir district.

Before that, a 3.2 magnitude earthquake jolted Karachi’s Malir district on April 24.

It is pertinent to mention that 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.