A strong earthquake measuring 7.2 has hit south-western Pakistan, in a desert area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, the US Geological Survey says. The quake struck at 0123 on Wednesday (2023 GMT on Tuesday), some 55 km (34 miles) west of Dalbandin in Pakistan, at a depth of 84km (52 miles).
It was located several hundred kilometres from the Pakistani city of Quetta and the city of Zahedan, Iran.
In comparison, the 7.6-magnitude Kashmir earthquake of October 2005 killed 73,000 people. Reports are that the quake was felt across Pakistan and as far away as Delhi, India, and the Gulf emirates of Dubai and Qatar.
An automatically generated USGS estimate suggested that 109,000 people in the region around the epicentre could be exposed to "very strong" shaking and "moderate/heavy" structural damage, but none to "severe" shaking or "heavy damage".
Please take a moment to pray for those affected by the quake. May Allah (swt) ease Pakistan's suffering. Ameen.
