ISLAMABAD: A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.2 shook various parts
of country early on Wednesday, jolting residents of cities as far
apart as Delhi and Dubai, but the epicentre was far from major
population centres.
The US Geological Survey said the quake was more than 80 km (50 miles)
underground, close to the town of Dalbandin in Balochistan province,
near the Afghan and Iranian frontiers.
No damage wasreported immediately. The USGS had first said that the
earthquake was very much shallower.
In Karachi, 400 km (250 miles) away, people woke and rushed out of
their homes after the tremors hit at 1:23 a.m. (2023 GMT on Tuesday).
The authorities there had no immediate reports of casualties or
damage.
In an ominous indication of problems for the small towns and villages
of Balochistan, however, people in India’s border province of
Rajasthan said cracks appeared in the walls of rural dwellings. The
simple structures common in the area closest to the quake may fare
badly under the strains of major tremors.
The USGS said the epicentre was 55 km (34 miles) west of Dalbandin, a
town of about 15,000 people, and at a depth of 83 km (52 miles).
The Pacific Tsunami Center said the onshore quake had not triggered a
tsunami in the Indian Ocean.
A major quake of this magnitude, if at a shallow depth and close to
population centres, is capable of causing widespread and heavy damage.
Pakistan is still reeling from devastating floods last year that left
more than 10 million people homeless.
In 2005, a 7.6 magnitude quake 95 km (60 miles) northeast of the
Pakistani capital Islamabad killed over 70,000 people.
