An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale jolted parts of the country on Friday, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).
The PMD said that the quake struck at 9:13pm at a depth of 190km, with the Hindu Kush Region in Afghanistan as its epicentre. It said the shocks were felt in Islamabad, Chitral, Peshawar, Swat and Shangla.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences, which uses the Moment Magnitude scale, an earthquake of magnitude 5.9 struck Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region at a depth of 177 km.
According to mediaNewsTV, tremors were also felt in Rawalpindi, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and parts of Punjab.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) also said that tremors were also felt in Lahore, Mianwali, Jhang, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Pothohar region, Sargodha and other districts in the province. In a statement, it said that no loss of life or property was reported.
The PDMA in KP also said that tremors were felt in multiple districts. It said that it had not received any reports about any unfortunate incident.
Pakistan falls on three major tectonic plates — the Arabian, Euro-Asian and Indian — which create five seismic zones under the country. The intersection of multiple fault lines means that tectonic movements remain a frequent occurrence in the region.
Last week, the Pakistan Meteorological Department had reported a 5.3-magnitude earthquake affecting the northern regions of the country. It said the tremors were reported felt in Gilgit, Skardu, Pattan, Balakot and surrounding areas.
Additional input from Reuters
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