SRINAGAR: People were jolted out of sleep after an earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale shook Kashmir during intervening night of Friday and Saturday sparking panic and forcing many residents out into the streets in sub-zero temperatures.
In Kashmir it was sixth day of Chilai Kala the harshest period of winter with temperatures hovering around minus 3.2 degree Celsius when the quake struck.
The quake struck at 12.44 a.m and its epicentre was in the Hindukush region on Tajik-Afghan border, reported seismological monitors, adding Its coordinates were latitude 36.5 degrees north and longitude 71.2 degrees east. The depth of the quake was 186 Kilometres.
It also covered the central Asia region near Afghanistan, the US Geological Survey said.
Although there were no reports of any major mishap due to the quake, reports said two men lost their lives due to shock.
An official said that Syed Younis Shah, 42, a resident of Dangerpora in Baramulla district, suffered a cardiac arrest after earthquake jolted the village.
He rushed out of his bakery but collapsed outside due to heart attack, report added.
Earlier, Zahid Ahmad, a resident of Gulatha Harni in Mendhar region of Poonch district, also died due to shock during the earthquake.
A report from North Kashmir said, at least 40 residential houses and four government school buildings suffered damage in Karnah and Tanghdar areas in Kupwara district due to the earthquake.
The residents said that these houses had suffered damage in the October 26 earthquake and todays jolts further damaged these houses.
More than 85,000 people were killed across divided Kashmir and properties worth billions destroyed in a 7.6 magnitude temblor that hit Kashmir on October 8, 2005.
Friday’s quake comes after a more-powerful earthquake jolted the region in October last, killing at least 115 people and injuring around 500 others in several provinces in Afghanistan.
Quake Shakes Sub-Continent
LAHORE: At least 89 people were injured in Pakistan in the powerful earthquake measuring 6.9-magnitude on Richter Scale.
In India, tremors were reported from Chandigarh, Jaipur, Delhi and the National Capital Region.
The centre of the quake with 196-km depth was Afghanistan and it was also felt in parts of Tajikistan and India, said Ghulam Rasool, Meteorological Department Director General.
However, no loss of life transpired from the earthquake, said an official of the Police Emergency Control Room.
As many as 59 people were injured in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber-Pakthunkhwa, whereas other minor injuries reported include 17 from Swat, 12 from dir Lower district and one from Buner district, an official of Provincial Disaster Management Authority said.
The injured were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital, Khyber Teaching Hospital and Hayatabad medical complex.
Majority of the injuries were caused due to panicky situation as the frightened people rushed out of their homes in haste and sustained minor injuries.
Due to landslide caused by the quake, the main Karakuram Highway was closed in Upper Kohistan district which has now been cleared for the traffic movement.
Rest all districts are ok, no major emergency reported, a rescue official said.
The quake was felt across Pakistan, including Lahore, Nankana Sahib, Faislabad, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Multan, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jehlum, Muree, Malakand, Charsada, Mansahra, Swat, Hangu, and Swabi, Chitral and South Waziristan.
It is second powerful quake in the region after a 7.5 magnitude tremor on October 26 struck Pakistan and northeastern Afghanistan, killing over 200 people in Pakistan.
Also, last month an earthquake of 5.9 was reported in most parts of Pakistan.
At least 12 people were injured in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province after an earthquake jolted the country just before midnight Friday, officials said on Saturday.
A number of Nangarhar University students in the provincial capital, Jalalabad, were injured during a stampede while trying to run out of a building during the quake, said Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor.
The magnitude 6.2 quake struck at around 11:45 p.m. on Friday and lasted about a minute. It was also felt in the capital, Kabul, sending residents rushing into the street for safety.
The U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said two regions of Afghanistan were affected east and north-east but the expected impact was “small to medium scale.”
The quake’s epicenter was in the Zebak district of Badakhshan province in the country’s north, but no casualties or damage from the area had been reported, OCHA said.
In neighboring Takhar province, to the east, very little damage was reported aside from three houses in Taloqan city, it said. The northeastern region of Afghanistan is a mosaic of valleys and mountains; it is remote and sparsely populated, and difficult for damage assessors to reach.
In eastern Nagarhar, Kunar and Laghman provinces, the damage was also limited. Overall, five provinces were affected, with 12 people injured and 16 houses damaged, OCHA said.
There were no reports of casualties or serious property damage in Kabul.
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