Mild earthquake jolts Swat, adjoining areas

Epicentre of quake was Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan

SWAT:

A moderate intensity earthquake on Thursday jolted the Swat district and its adjoining areas.

The intensity of tremors was recorded 4.7 magnitude on the Richter scale, according to a report of the National Seismic Monitoring Centre. The earthquake tremors were felt across Mingora town and adjoining areas.

The depth of the quake was 100 kilometres while its epicentre was in the Hindukush mountain range, the report added.

The 2005 Kashmir earthquake also occurred on October 8. It was centred near the city of Muzaffarabad, and also badly affected the Balakot city in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). It had claimed thousands of lives besides causing massive damage to infrastructure especially in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and K-P. The 15th anniversary of victims of the deadly earthquake was observed across the country including AJK on Thursday.

Last year in September, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake had hit different parts of AJK including Muzaffarabad, Kotli and other areas.

At least 40 people died and over 500 were injured as a result of the earthquake. Around 6,000 houses were destroyed completely, while 7, 100 cattle farms were damaged in the quake.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9^th, 2020.