The quake measuring 7.5 on the Richter Scale struck Jammu and Kashmir Monday with epicenter in the Hindukush mountain region of Afghanistan.
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The US Geological Survey put the epicentre near Jarm in the country’s northeast, 250 kilometres from the capital Kabul and at a depth of 213.5 km. In Islamabad, walls swayed and people poured out of office buildings in a panic, reciting verses from the Quran, the AP said.
In Pakistan, 102 deaths were reported by early evening, most in northern and northwestern regions bordering Afghanistan, officials told Reuters.
However, there have been no reports of any casualty or any major damage to property till now, the official said, on condition of anonymity. Eight people, including four children, were killed in the Bajaur tribal region near the Afghanistan border after buildings collapsed in the area, it said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered an immediate damage assessment, and according to the BBC, experts say the natural disaster had the potential to cause serious damage.
Reportedly, several buildings collapsed in various areas of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
“Reports coming of damage and injuries in north eastern Afghanistan”, Abdullah Abdullah, chief executive of Afghanistan, said in a tweet cited by the CNN.
In Srinagar, residents said they saw the buildings “swinging”, remindig them of the devastating quake in 2005.
Eight people were killed in Swat Valley, while almost 200 injured were brought to Swat’s Saidu Sharif Teaching Hospital. “It happened while there was heavy rain and hailstorm in parts of the province… but many homes have been destroyed and the death toll could be higher as we are trying to reach to the remote areas”.
The Pakistani media said the quake was felt in all major cities including Islamabad, Lahore and Rawalpindi. On October 8, 2005 quake to hit upcountry in Kashmir and KPK was of 7.6 magnitude.
Small tremors were also felt in Delhi, India’s capital, much farther away from the epicenter.
The natural disaster struck nearly exactly six months after Nepal suffered its worst quake on record, on April 24.
This is a result of the Indian subcontinent driving into and under the Eurasian landmass.
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At first only one death was reported in Peshawar, Pakistan, and officials with the city’s Lady Reading Hospital reported that they received 50 people who were injured in the quake and that more are still being transported.
