Back-to-back tremors jolt Pasni

Official says there is no threat of tsunami

KARACHI:

Two tremors which were 10 minutes apart, along the coastal line in Balochistan jolted Pasni and other areas nearby of the provinces on Sunday evening, officials at the Seismological Centre of the Meteorological Department said.

An earthquake of 5.6 magnitude on the Richter scale struck at 6:42 pm. Ten minutes later a 5-magnitute aftershock hit the region, according to the National Tsunami Center Director Amir Haider Leghari. He said that the earthquake was in the subduction zone in the ocean.

Officials said that the epicentre of the 5.6 earthquake was in the subduction zone in the ocean at a depth of at 60 kilometres, while the aftershock’s epicentre was 30 kilometres deep. Leghari said that the 5- magnitude earthquakes did not create tsunamis.

No immediate reports of casualties or damage to property were reported. The on-going torrential rains have already wreaked havoc across the province completely destroying over 6,000 homes, while around 10,000 houses remain partially damaged.

The quakes come at a time when Balochistan is reeling from floods. Intermittent rains continued to lash most parts of Balochistan as authorities scrambled to rescue thousands who were left displaced due to flooding in over a dozen districts.

Meanwhile, France-based European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said that an earthquake of 5.6 magnitude struck south-western Pakistan on Sunday, adding that the quake struck at a depth of 30 kilometres.

(WITH INPUT FROM REUTERS)