Strong quake claims two lives, hurts several

Two including minor girl died and several others sustained injuries as a powerful 6.2 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday struck Islamabad and various cities of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and neighbouring Afghanistan. According to details, in Lasbela district of Balochistan, roof of a dilapidated house collapsed due to the quake. As a result one girl died and eleven others people were injured. Cracks also emerged in many houses in Hub. One person died and several others injured when mud houses caved-in in Awaran district.
According to the geological wing of Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), tremors measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale were felt in Islamabad, Swat, Mingora, Landi Kotal, Batkhela, Malakand, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Peshawar and surroundings. Strong tremors also shook Lahore, Quetta, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Sheikhupura, Gujra-nwala, Sargodha, Jhelum, Nankana, Chiniot, Muzaff-arabad, Sangla Hill, Pakpattan, Lasbela, Safdarabad, Mianwali Sharaqpur, Dir, Malakand, Charsadda, and where frightened residents ran out of homes while offices and schools were quickly evacuated.
Officials dispatched teams in Balochistan and nearby Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to assess reports of damage. Four girl students were injured in a Peshawar Hospital as they rushed out of class rooms. However, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) did not expect serious losses, a spokesman said.
The earthquake originated around 169 kilometres below the earth's surface, with the epicentre located in mountains of Hindu Kush near Afghanistan's Jarm, which was hit by a devastating 7.5 magnitude quake in October 2015 that triggered landslides and flattened buildings, killing more than 380 people across the region.
The Parliament session in Islamabad was adjourned due to the tremors. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has directed the relief agencies to remain alert in case of any untoward incident in the province. He has also ordered the concerned authorities to monitor the situation and stay vigilant. The quake was felt in the Afghan capital Kabul, where an official said at least three people were injured in north-eastern Badakhshan province near the border with Pakistan.