PESHAWAR: Strong earthquake tremors hit various parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) including federal capital Islamabad on Friday night, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).
According to PMD, the epicentre of the quake was Afghanistan-Tajikistan border, at a depth of 100km and a magnitude of 5.6 on the Richter scale. No casualty or damage has been reported so far.
Tremors were felt in the federal capital and its adjoining areas, as well as in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mansehra, Hazara, Balakot, Battagram, Torghar, Haripur, Abbottbad, Swat, Malakand and Shangla areas, Dawn News reported.
Earlier on Tuesday, an earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale had jolted coastal parts of Balochistan.
According to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre (NSMC), the epicentre of the moderate earthquake was 50 kilometres south of Gwadar at a depth of 25km in the Makran subduction zone.
“It’s the first time in decades that an earthquake of this magnitude has been reported in the Makran subduction zone and was felt from Gwadar to Omara,” NSMC Director Ameer Hyder had told a local daily.
He had said while an earthquake of this magnitude couldn’t produce a tsunami, there was a need for preparedness as the region had the potential to generate a tsunami anytime.
