Earthquake shocks were also felt in many parts of India and Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: The Death Toll in the earthquake that struck India's neighboring country Pakistan on Tuesday night has risen to 9, while more than 100 people are reported to have been injured. However, this figure is expected to increase. The magnitude of the earthquake was recorded at 6.8 on the Richter scale.

Earthquake shocks were felt in other parts of the country, including Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Peshawar, Kohat, Lucky Marwat and Pakistan. Strong tremors were felt in many parts of the country, after which Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel declared an emergency alert in hospitals.

According to the American Geological Survey, earthquake shocks were also felt in many parts of India and Afghanistan, including the capital Delhi. The epicenter of the earthquake was the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan. According to reports, 5 members of a family were injured after the roof of a house collapsed in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In some parts of Pakistan, the earthquake was so strong that people came out on the streets in panic. Tremors were also felt in Peshawar, Swabi, Lodhran, DG Khan, Bahawalpur, Kohat, Toba Tek Singh, Nowshera and Khanewal. Notably, apart from Pakistan late on Tuesday night, earthquake shocks were also felt in India, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, China and Kyrgyzstan. Earthquakes are more likely in this region because it lies at the juncture of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

In the capital of Islamabad, a huge multi-storey residential block was evacuated after huge cracks appeared in the building. Phone lines have been affected. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has instructed disaster agencies to take emergency measures to help people. 

Notably, In June last year more than 1,000 people were killed after a 5.9-magnitude quake struck Paktika province in Afghanistan. 

What is an Earthquake?

It can be defined as any sudden shaking of the ground caused by the passage of seismic waves through rocks on Earth. As per britannica, Seismic waves are produced when some form of energy stored in Earth’s crust is suddenly released, usually when masses of rock straining against one another suddenly fracture and slip. Earthquakes occur most often along geologic faults, narrow zones. 

Major earthquakes occur frequently in belts coinciding with the margins of tectonic plates. The most important earthquake belt is the Circum-Pacific Belt, which affects many populated coastal regions around the Pacific Ocean as of New Zealand, New Guinea, Japan, the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and the western coasts of North and South America. 

Here are some earthquake safety tips.....

- Drop down on knees under any table or other solid furniture. This position protects you from falling but allows you to still move if necessary.

- Cover your head and neck and your entire body if possible underneath a sturdy table or desk. If there is no shelter nearby, get down near an interior wall and cover your head and neck with your arms and hands.