On Thursday, a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6 shook cities like Islamabad, Lahore, and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The shaking started around 2:20 pm, and it was deep in the ground at 213 kilometers.
The earthquake’s center was in the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan, as shared by the Pakistan Meteorological Department. Other places that felt the tremors include Sargodha, Khushab, Mandi Bahauddin, Bhakkar, and Nowshera in Punjab.
Cities in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, such as Muzaffarabad and Neelum valley, also experienced the earthquake. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), it was felt in Peshawar, Kohat, Shabqadar, Abbottabad, Lower Dir, Mianwali, Mansehra, Battagram, Kohistan, Deerbala, Dera Ismail Khan, Hangu, Diamir, Parachinar, and Bannu.
Saeed Ur Rehman, 40, from Lahore, shared his experience: “I was sitting in the office when the quake hit. We had to rush out of the building.”
Pakistan often faces natural disasters like earthquakes because it is located on the boundary of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. This region, including large parts of South Asia, is prone to seismic activity because the Indian plate is pushing north into the Eurasian plate.
These recent earthquakes remind us of the importance of being prepared for disasters and having measures in place to reduce their impact.