The deadly quake that struck Pakistan on Tuesday has already claimed over 80 lives. The number could increase further as many are feared to be buried under the rubble of collapsed houses. Hundreds of mud-brick houses have completely collapsed or have been damaged in the quake.
The army has dispatched 300 soldiers and medical teams to carry out rescue operation in the affected areas. According to reports, an emergency has also been officially declared in Awaran.
The earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck Awaran district in Balochistan province on Tuesday. The tremors were felt as far as New Delhi, some 1,200 kilometers away. The quake was so powerful that it caused an island to emerge off the coast of the port of Gwadar.
The quake also jolted Pakistan’s port city Karachi along with Hyderabad, Larkana and other towns and cities of Sindh province. The tremors lasted for almost a minute creating a situation of panic and chaos. People could be seen rushing out of their tall office buildings in Karachi, country’s largest city.
The quake, with its epicentre 69 km from Awaran, struck at 4.29pm Pakistan time at a depth of 23 kilometers.
Balochistan and neighbouring Iran are prone to earthquakes. A magnitude-7.8 quake centered just across the border in Iran killed at least 40 people and destroyed or damaged hundreds of houses in Pakistan last April.
