Pakistan, India and Afghanistan rocked by huge earthquake

People stand on a road in Srinagar after vacating buildings following an earthquake felt through Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. Photograph: Danish Ismail/Reuters

Five reported deaths in Afghanistan

The head of Nangahar provincial hospital has said there have been five deaths in Afghanistan, with 55 people injured.

The full extent of the damage and the number of possible casualties is not yet known. Pakistani officials have reported four deaths and an official in Badakhshan said there were reports of casualties and destruction.

Dr Muhammad Sadiq, the head of emergency services at a government hospital in Pakistan’s northern Swat Valley, told AFP that more than 100 people were also injured.


State-run Pakistani television said at least one person died when the roof of a home collapsed in the eastern city of Kasur.

The region where the earthquake struck has a history of powerful tremors. This is a result of the Indian subcontinent driving into and under the Eurasian landmass. Such tectonic shifts can cause enormous and destructive releases of energy.

In 2005, a magnitude 7.6 quake in Pakistan-administered Kashmir killed more than 75,000 people.


In April this year, Nepal suffered its worst earthquake on record with 9,000 people killed and about 900,000 homes damaged or destroyed.

The provincial director of the national disaster management authority, Abdullah Humayoon Dehqan, has said “there are reports of casualties and destruction” in some remote districts of Badakhshan.

The Associated Press reports that power was cut across much of Kabul, where tremors were felt for around 45 seconds. Houses shook, walls cracked and cars rolled in the street. Officials in the capital could not be immediately reached as telephones appeared to be cut across the country.

In Pakistan, Zahid Rafiq, an official with the meteorological department, said the quake was felt across the country. In Islamabad, buildings shook and people poured into the streets in a panic, with many reciting verses from the Quran.

“I was praying when the massive earthquake rattled my home. I came out in a panic,” said Munir Anwar, a resident of Liaquat Pur in the eastern Punjab province.


The quake was also felt in the Indian capital New Delhi, though no damage was immediately reported. Office buildings swayed and workers who had just returned from lunch ran out of buildings and gathered in the street or in parking lots.

The prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, has tweeted about the earthquake. He said he is praying for everyone’s safety.

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