4.2-magnitude earthquake jolts Islamabad, Pindi

Quake shakes surrounding areas of twin cities, however, no loss of life reported

M. Waqar Bhatti

January 29, 2023

Picture showing a Richter scale reading — Reuters

Quake shakes areas surrounding twin cities, Iran, Afghanistan.
Tremors felt for a few seconds but no loss of life reported.
NSMC says epicentre of earthquake was near Hassan Abdal.

ISLAMABAD: A 4.2 magnitude earthquake struck Islamabad, Rawalpindi and surrounding areas including Dhirkot of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, confirmed the National Seismic Monitoring Centre (NSMC) on Sunday, with no loss of life reported.

The NSMC has revised the scale from 6.3, which was reported earlier, to 4.2, a corrigendum said. It mentioned that the epicentre was near Hassan Abdal and had a depth of about 13 kilometres.

This was the second quake in a month after a 5.8-magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Pakistan on January 5.

As per details, the tremors were felt for a few seconds and shook parts of neighbouring countries Iran and Afghanistan. The seismological centre said that the epicentre of the earthquake was Tajikistan, while its depth was 150 kilometres.

Moderate earthquake strikes parts of Pakistan

On January 5, a moderate earthquake of 5.8 magnitude jolted parts of Pakistan with no loss of life.

However, the US Geological Survey claimed that the magnitude of the quake was recorded as 5.5 on the Richter scale.

The seismic centre said that the earthquake tremors were felt in Gilgit, Jhelum, Chakwal, Pakpattan, Lakki Marwat, Nowshera, Swat, Malakand, Azad Kashmir, and other areas of the country.

The epicentre of this earthquake was Afghanistan's Hindu Kush region, while its depth was 173 kilometres, according to the seismological centre.

The earthquake's effects were also felt in Peshawar, Lower Dir, Chitral, Khyber District, Waziristan, Tank, Bajaur, Mardan, Parachinar, Murree, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Multan, Sheikhupura, Chiniot and Kotli.