Earthquake tremors felt in Islamabad, parts of Balochistan
Earthquake tremors were felt in Islamabad, parts of Balochistan and other areas of the country on Tuesday.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), an earthquake of 5.3 magnitude jolted Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan at 12:36pm. It had a depth of 10 kilometres.
However, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said the epicentre of the quake was Afghanistan's Hindu Kush region and its depth was 85km.
So far, no casualties have been reported.
Earlier this month, at least 80 houses collapsed when a 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck the Aurnaji area in Balochistan's Khuzdar district, rendering over 200 families homeless.
"A vast area of Aurnaji was affected by the earthquake that demolished over 80 houses while big cracks appeared in 260 other houses," retired Major Ilyas Kibzai, the deputy commissioner of Khuzdar, had told Dawn, adding that most of the destroyed houses were built with mud.
The quake also damaged Nali, Zamri, Barang and Nachkan Sonaro Lathi villages in Wadh tehsil.
On January 14, an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale had jolted Islamabad and northern areas of the country.