20 killed, over 300 injured in earthquake in Pakistan’s Balochistan province

At least 20 people were killed and more than 300 wounded after a powerful magnitude earthquake of 5.9 shook a mountainous part of the province of Balochistan of Pakistan at the beginning of Thursday, October 7, 2021, collapsing several houses Disaster management officials said that the number of deaths can increase, reported Geo news.

The National Center for Seismic Monitoring in Islamabad reported that the epicenter of the earthquake was close to Harnai at a depth of about 15 kilometers. In addition, he said that “exact damage” has not yet been confirmed The earthquake affected Quetta, Sibi, Harnai, Pishin, Qila Saifullah, Chaman, Ziarat and Zhob in Balochistan Most deaths and injuries were reported from the northeastern district of Harnai.

The geological survey of the USA UU said it was an earthquake of magnitude of 5.9 that hit a shallow depth. Shallow earthquakes can cause more damage The number of deaths of 20 was confirmed by the Assistant Commissioner of the Harnai Sohail Anwar HaShmi district.

The provincial disaster management authority (PDMA) said many of the dead were women and children The images on social networks showed people in the city of Quetta in the streets after Quake, the newspaper Dawn reported.

Replica

The replicas are still feeling in different areas. The first tremors felt at 3:20 am, after which panic citizens rushed to leave their homes reciting verses from the Holy Quran. Relief and rescue activities are underway, with an emergency declared in all hospitals.

According to Hashmi, several people have been hurried to the hospital in critical state. He said that several buildings in Harnai have been damaged. Many people were buried under the rubble More than 100 clay houses have also collapsed, leaving hundreds of homeless people.

The power supply to the area has been suspended, he said The Chief Minister of Balochistan, Jamal, Khan, Alyani, said that attendance and evacuation efforts were underway Blood, ambulances, emergency assistance, [helicopters] and rest all things are placed … all departments are working on it,” he tuned him.

Speaking with Geo News, the Director General of the PDMA, Naseer Ahmed Nasir, said there had been landslides in mountainous areas The domestic minister Mir Ziaullah Langave said that five to six districts were affected in an “important scale” and were still collected.

Pakistan is among the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates and is located in the Suture area of ​​Indus-Tsangpo, which is approximately 200 km north of the Himalayas front, which makes this region make this region highly susceptible to the earthquakes

The region has the highest rates of seismicity and larger earthquakes in the Himalayas region, mainly caused by the movement in push failures. The country has suffered several earthquakes in recent years One of the worst earthquakes to hit the country in recent years was October 8, 2005, which killed more than 74,000 people.