Pakistan

Islamabad, AJK, Northern areas jolted by strong earthquake

The quake measured 5.4 on the Richter Scale and was strong enough to prompt many people to evacuate their homes

Web Desk February 26, 2015

PHOTO: USGS

ISLAMABAD: A strong earthquake jolted northern parts of Pakistan including capital Islamabad early on Friday morning, Express News reported.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake measured 5.4 on the Richter scale and had an epicentre 100 kilometers north-north east of Islamabad and at a depth of 24.2 km.

The quake was strong enough to prompt many people to evacuate their homes in panic.

Fortunately, there were no reports of any loss of live or property.

The epicentre of Friday's earthquake was just 19 kilometers north of Baffa, close to Balakot where a 7.6 magnitude temblor struck in 2005 killing at least 75,000 people.

https://twitter.com/Faraankhan/status/571070934712348673

https://twitter.com/saffism/status/571068213867388929

Magnitude of earthquake was high.sound of a blast woke me up from a sound sleep then I felt tremors .
— Tanzeela Mazhar (@TenzilaMazhar) February 26, 2015

The area where the quake took place lies near a fault line. Seismicity in the Himalaya mostly results from the continental collision of the India and Eurasia plates, which are converging at a relative rate of 40-50 mm per year.

Northward underthrusting of India beneath Eurasia generates numerous earthquakes and consequently makes this area one of the most seismically hazardous regions on Earth.

COMMENTS (5)

jeremiah | 9 years ago | Reply @Atheist_Pakistani: Believe in God and ye shall know!

Hakeem Munawar Hussain Azeemi | 9 years ago | Reply @CuriousChris: Following information maybe of your interest! What is an earthquake? Earthquakes are the vibrations caused by rocks breaking under stress. The underground surface along which the rock breaks and moves is called a fault plane. What causes earthquakes? Earthquakes in Australia are usually caused by movements along faults as a result of compression in the Earth’s crust. Where do earthquakes occur? No part of Earth's surface is free from earthquakes, but some regions experience them more frequently. They are most common at tectonic plate boundaries where different plates meet. The largest events usually happen where two plates are colliding, or colliding and sliding past one another, particularly around the edge of the Pacific Plate, for example in New Zealand, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Japan and the Americas, and in Indonesia, where the Indo-Australian Plate collides with the Eurasian Plate. The depths of focus in these collision zones can range from 0-700km.