ISLAMABAD: A 4.2-magnitude earthquake struck Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Saturday night, the latest in a series of tremors that have rattled the region over the past two days, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said.
According to the PMD, the earthquake occurred at 8:30 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time. It had a depth of 12 kilometres and its epicentre was located about 50 kilometres northeast of Kohlu district.
The earthquake was the latest in a succession of seismic events that have panicked residents in various areas of Balochistan province.
Earlier on Saturday, officials reported a 4.3-magnitude earthquake that struck a wide area, including Barkhan, Kohlu, Musakhail and Rakhni.
According to the PMD and the National Seismic Monitoring Centre (NSMC), the 4.3-magnitude earthquake struck the Barakhan region. The NSMC recorded its depth at 42 kilometres, while the USGS said it occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres.
Provincial authorities said at least three people were injured in the earlier earthquakes.
According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), two labourers were injured when the roof of a shop collapsed in Musakhail district during one of the tremors.
Another resident, identified as Fazal, was injured after his house collapsed near the Kingri area, northwest of Musakhail.
The PDMA and the local administration launched rescue operations after receiving reports from the affected areas.
The local administration said cracks appeared in the walls of mud houses, prompting many residents to leave their homes and erect temporary tents as a precaution.
The latest earthquakes followed another 5.1-magnitude tremor that struck the same region on Friday.
The PMD said Friday’s earthquake had its epicentre about 60 kilometres northeast of Kohlu at a depth of 17 kilometres. Tremors were felt in Zhob, Barkhan and Rakhni.
According to local officials, the earthquake injured three people, including a child, and partially damaged around 70 houses in the Kingri area of Musakhail district after the walls collapsed.
The fresh earthquake came just hours after a separate 5.9-magnitude earthquake centred in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region shook Islamabad and several parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab on Saturday evening.
The PMD said the 5.9-magnitude earthquake occurred at 6:35 p.m. at a depth of 178 kilometres. Tremors were felt in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Mansehra, Shangla, Swat, Chakwal, Abbottabad, Taxila, Haripur and Buner, while the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority reported shaking in Lahore, Faisalabad and Attock.
