New Delhi: A powerful quake Wednesday struck
southwestern Pakistan and its effect was felt in Delhi,
Rajasthan and parts of western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana where
people came out of their homes but there were no reports of
any damage or loss of life.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the
epicentre of the 7.4 magnitude quake on the Richter scale was
located in a desert area of southwestern Pakistan bordering
Iran and Afghanistan. The quake hit the region at 1:53 am.
Besides Delhi, the tremors were also felt in Jaipur,
Barmer, Jaisalmer and Ganganagar, parts of Haryana and western
UP.
Slight tremors were also felt in Kashmir, the Met
office in Srinagar said.
Delhi Police, the city`s Disaster Management Authority
(DDMA) and the fire department said there were no reports of
any damage and loss of life due to the quake.
"It was a shallow earthquake which struck at a depth
of 7.4 km," an IMD official said.
A DDMA official said they have received a report that
a person sustained injuries when he jumped off from his second
floor residence in Laxmi Nagar area after the quake. But he
said he could not verify whether the man had jumped because of
the tremor.
"The man has been admitted to a nearby hospital and we
are waiting for detailed reports," said the official.
The epicentre of the quake was located at latitude
28.9 degrees north and longitude 64 degrees east, the IMD
said, categorising the earthquake as "great".
A US Geological Service report said the epicentre of
the earthquake was located 45 km from Dalbandin in Southwest
Pakistan.
A 7.6 magnitude earthquake had devastated northern
Pakistan and parts of Kashmir in October 2008, killing
thousands of people.
PTI
