Haripur woman killed as 6.4-magnitude earthquake rocks Pakistan

• Epicentre of the quake was Tajikistan's Murghab city
• Intensity recorded at 6.4 magnitude on Richter's scale
• Death of one woman reported so far in Haripur, several other injured

A woman died in Haripur's Khanpur village after a powerful earthquake measuring a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale jolted several cities of Pakistan late Friday night.

Tajikistan's Murghab city was the epicentre.

Tremors were felt in Islamabad, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Mardan, North Waziristan, Swat, Multan, Sargodha, Faisalabad, and Lahore.

They were also felt in Killa Abdullah, Pishin, Toba Achakzai, Shangla, Buner, Malakand, Dir, and Chitral.

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The control room of PDMA is operational and close liaison is being maintained with district administrations. The situation is monitored and DDMAs and the Disaster Response Force is on high alert to respond any untoward situation.

According to the Seismological Centre, the depth of the earthquake was measured at 80km. Citizens have been advised to be careful as aftershocks of the earthquake are expected.

Such a high-intensity earthquake jolted Pakistan after 1.5 years, and during the previous incident, Azad Jammu and Kashmir suffered significant damages.

Deaths and injuries

In Mardan and Dir, four women fell unconscious, while one woman was reported injured in Mansehra, say Rescue 1122 officials.

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At the time of the earthquake, the woman from Haripur ran in fear and fell and died in the courtyard of her house, the rescue officials said.

As per the report of all DCs and the Disaster Response Force, no damage or loss of life has been reported so far.

The US Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 5.9 and centred 35 km (55 miles) west of Tajikistan in central Asia.

Punjab

Earlier, Rescue Punjab, speaking to Geo News, had said that despite such a high-intensity earthquake, no casualties were so far reported

Director-General Rescue Punjab has issued a high-alert, according to a spokesperson.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Similarly, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, rescue officials said that citizens could call 1700 to inform the authorities of any losses, adding that a few injuries were reported, but there have been no deaths.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir

In the adjacent areas of Muzaffarabad, the intensity of the tremors was intense, including Neelum, Jehlum, Bagh, Poonch, Mirpur, and other areas.

Police and rescue officials said that two people were injured so far in Bagh, however, no life losses were reported.

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In Muzaffarabad, where a 2005 earthquake wreaked serious destruction, there was mass panic, according to witnesses and many rushed out of their homes in fear.

"I thought it's the same like what had hit us in 2005. My children started crying," said Asif Maqbool, a resident in Madina Market, a neighbourhood of Muzaffarabad that was almost flattened in the 2005 quake.

Gilgit-Baltistan

In Gilgit-Baltistan, Astore, Diamer, Hunza, and all four district of Baltistan were hit by the earthquake. People came out of their house and began praying.

Prayers for the nation

Responding to the development, PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz prayed for people's safety and "hoped" that everyone was safe.

The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis also prayed for everyone's safety.

Earthquake in India

Meanwhile, in India, an earthquake of 6.1-magnitude struck Punjab at 10:34pm on Friday, sending tremors across north India, including Delhi-and parts of Uttar Pradesh.

However, there was no immediate report of property losses or casualties.

Cracks were reported in some homes in northern Occupied Kashmir, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said. A witness also reported a wall collapse near the northern Indian city of Amritsar, but there were no reports of casualties.

G. Suresh, a senior scientist at the IMD, told Reuters there were two earthquakes within 10 minutes in Tajikistan and Sichuan, China. An Indian government monitor had earlier said the quake was centred near Amritsar.

"The seismic waves have been mixed up in data monitoring," he said.

Tremors were felt across Pakistan including the capital, Islamabad, and northwestern Peshawar, and even as far as the eastern city of Lahore, which borders India.

Additional input from Reuters