Twin cities jolted by 4.8 magnitude quake

A 4.8 magnitude earthquake was felt in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Saturday.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the earthquake was recorded eight kilometres southeast of Rawalpindi at 10:48pm and had a depth of 17km.

No casualties have been reported as of yet.

A media.com correspondent reported that the tremors spread panic within the twin cities, with people coming out of their homes and business centres.

Tremors were felt in various cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as Islamabad in November after a quake jolted Afghanistan’s Badakhshan region.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.1, while the PMD reported it as having a 5.3 magnitude.

The USGS said the quake’s centre was located 37km west-southwest of Afghanistan’s Ishkashim town and had a 220.7km depth.

The earthquake struck at 10:13am (Pakistan time), both the USGS and PMD confirmed.