An earthquake with magnitude 7.2 on the Richter scale, which can be classified as major according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), occurred on early Wednesday morning in Baluchistan, south-west of Pakistan. Baluchistan, one of the four big Pakistani districts, is located in the frontier area to Afghanistan and Iran. The earthquake took place at a depth of 84 km and the epicenter was located 45 km west of the 15,000 inhabitant city Dalbandin, which is 1,035 km south-west of the capital Islamabad.
Owing to Baluchistan’s low population density, no major damages revealed. However two women died of heart attack and several people got injured by falling debris. Many houses and buildings are destroyed. Furthermore the earthquake caused panic and alarmism all across Pakistan: In the megacity Karachi millions of people left their homes and spent the night outside praying in the cold.
Vibrations have also been perceived hundreds of kilometers away in cities like Lahore. Even the Indian capital New Delhi, and the desert country of Dubai, which is about 800 km apart, were affected by the force of nature.
Pakistan and the surrounding areas are often sorely afflicted by earthquakes. In October 2008, 225 people died due to seismographic movements; three years before a M7.6 earthquake had caused 86,000 victims, millions of people had lost their homes. Moreover Pakistan is still affected by the consequences of the disastrous floods in the 2010 monsoon season.
Source: reuters.com
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