- Epicenter located in the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan.
- The tremors spread to Hangu, North Waziristan and Rawalpindi.
- No reports of casualties or damage.
A 5.5 magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region on Saturday, shaking Islamabad, Peshawar and several parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), according to the National Seismic Monitoring Center (NSMC) of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).
The tremors were also felt in Swat, Hangu, North Waziristan and Chitral, while residents of Rawalpindi were also affected.
The seismological center said the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.5 and occurred at a depth of 199 kilometers.
He added that the epicenter was located in the Koh Hindu Kush region. No casualties or damage were immediately reported.
Pakistan’s vulnerability to earthquakes stems from its geographic location, on the boundary of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. The country has experienced several devastating earthquakes in recent decades.
In a similar incident earlier this month, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck Islamabad, parts of Punjab, KP, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), with tremors also felt in cities like Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Muzaffarabad and Skardu.
The PMD said the earthquake originated in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region at a depth of 190 km.
In February this year, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook Islamabad, Swat and Hunza, while the 2005 earthquake in Azad Kashmir killed more than 73,000 people and left millions homeless.
Balochistan also suffered in 2021, when an earthquake in Harnai killed at least 20 people and hampered rescue operations due to landslides.
Experts warn that the rugged terrain of Pakistan’s earthquake-prone areas complicates relief efforts and makes preparedness critical.
