On March 21 night, a powerful earthquake hit Pakistan and parts of India with its epicentre in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region. The earthquake was measured at a depth of 180 kilometres and caused strong tremors that resulted in at least 12 deaths and over 200 injuries in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Social media was filled with videos showing people seeking shelter outside their buildings, and others capturing their ceiling fans shaking. Television footage also showed citizens in panic on the streets.
A video of a news anchor from a local Pashto TV channel in Pakistan, Mashriq TV, has gone viral on social media. In the video, the anchor can be seen maintaining composure as the earthquake shakes the entire studio. The newsroom equipment can also be seen shaking vigorously. This event earned praise from people on social media.
The epicentre of the earthquake was near the Afghan town of Jurm, close to the borders of Pakistan and Tajikistan. According to Geo News, the earthquake resulted in the collapse of several buildings, killing nine people, including two women, and injuring over 160 others.
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Many cities in Pakistan, including Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Peshawar, Kohat, Lakki Marwat, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Kot Momin, Madh Ranjha, Chakwal, Kohat, and Gilgit-Baltistan, felt the tremors. The earthquake caused cracks in various buildings, and a stampede was reported in Rawalpindi’s markets.
The earthquake also impacted the mountainous region of Gilgit-Baltistan, causing landslides and creating fear. In Swat, around 150 people were injured, and hospitals declared a state of emergency.
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The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in Peshawar in a tweet said that nine persons, including five men, two women and two children were killed in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
Two persons – a man in Islamabad and a 13-year-old girl in Abbottabad – lost their lives due to sudden cardiac arrest after the quake, Dawn newspaper reported.
Sources said landslides blocked the Karakoram Highway in the Harban area of Kohistan near the border with GB’s Diamer district, stranding several people on both sides.
In Islamabad and the neighbouring city of Rawalpindi, cracks appeared in various buildings.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has asked disaster management officials to remain vigilant to handle any situation.
An emergency was declared in the hospitals of the federal capital on the instructions of Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.
(With PTI inputs)
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