According to government sources, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that happened later on Tuesday in Pakistan and Afghanistan triggered at least 13 fatalities and more than 90 injuries.
The earthquake created landslides, damaged buildings, and pushed people to evacuate onto the streets.
Authorities cautioned on Wednesday that the death toll from a powerful earthquake that shook north Afghanistan on Tuesday might increase significantly as vibrations were detected as far apart as the Indian capital of New Delhi.
The epicenter was located 187.6 kilometers (116 miles) deep throughout the Hindu Kush mountainous region, 40 kilometers (24 miles) southeast of the Afghan town of Jurm, as determined by the U.S. Geological Survey.
According to Sharafat Zaman Amar, spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, at least 4 people were murdered, and 70 more were hurt in affected districts all over Afghanistan.
Shafiullah Rahimi, a spokesman for such Ministry of Disaster Management, warned that the number of fatalities could rise if rescue efforts reach more impacted communities. Rahimi stated that some earthquake-affected areas are outlying and lack cell phone service.
As a result of dwellings and other buildings collapsing throughout Pakistan, at least 10 people, including two children, have perished.
As stated by the Province Disaster Management Authority of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (PDMA). In the province, at least 44 more people suffered injuries.
According to authorities, dwellings and structures in both nations also sustained damage.
According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, the earthquake was felt by 285 million residents of Pakistan, India, Uzbek, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan across an area over 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) wide.
It happened on Tuesday night and was centered in a hilly area in northern Afghanistan, close to the Pakistani border.India was affected by the tremors coming from the isolated Jurm valley.
“The tremor was terrifying. After exiting her fifth-floor apartment hurriedly, Kabul native Khatera informed AFP news agency, “I hadn’t ever sensed such a tremble before”.Several families were out of the house celebrating Norwuz, the Persian New Year, as the earthquake struck.
Yet according to AFP, the damage has been less than anticipated, according to emergency personnel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.But, relief and rescue efforts are expected to be slowed down by the remoteness and difficult terrain of the affected districts.
Many people in the affected areas braved the cold after the earthquake to spend the night outside out of concern for aftershocks. As they felt the shaking, some hurried barefoot out of their homes.A massive multi-story residential building in Islamabad’s capital was evacuated after massive fissures.Phone connections have been impacted, and in Pakistan, landslides have blocked the highways in the worst-affected Swat region.
Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, has requested that disaster relief organizations take emergency action.
Under the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, tremors were detected throughout a 1,000 km region encompassing India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan.Due to its location at the confluence of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, this area is more susceptible to experiencing earthquakes.