5.3-magnitude quake sends tremors through Peshawar, Islamabad

Published
An image of a map showing the epicentre of the earthquake felt in Pakistan on August 27. — Screengrab from United States Geological Survey
An image of a map showing the epicentre of the earthquake felt in Pakistan on August 27. — Screengrab from United States Geological Survey

Tremors from a 5.3-magnitude earthquake were felt in Peshawar and Islamabad on Wednesday, according to a press release issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department’s (PMD) Seismic Network, but there have been no reports of casualties or damage so far.

The PMD stated that the earthquake occurred at 6:27pm with a magnitude of 5.3 and a depth of 110 kilometres. The PMD determined that the epicentre was in the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) tracked an earthquake in northeast Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border, 35km south of Eshkashem.

USGS data shows that the quake was registered at 6:27pm, albeit with a magnitude of 5.1 and at a depth of 128km.

Last week, a strong, 5.2 magnitude earthquake jolted the northern parts of the country, including the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and several parts of Khyber Pakht­unkhwa.

The PMD said in a statement that the epicentre of the earthquake was located in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan. The depth of the earthquake was 190km.

The shake map of the event shows that the earthquake was of moderate intensity.

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