HYDERABAD, Jan 19: Buildings which withstood the earthquake of 7.3 magnitude which rocked wide areas on Tuesday night should be considered safe and people who moved to other places should return to their homes.

This was stated by Sindh's Chief Meteorologist Riaz Khan. Talking to this correspondent on phone from Karachi he said that the aftershocks could be reported within a span of one week.

People across the province spent a sleepless night outside their homes after the shocks.

DCO Hyderabad Aftab Ahmed Khatri directed all Taluka municipal officers to be alert and present to meet any emergency.

TMO City Fakhir Shakir Sidiqui deployed fire brigades in different areas to keep an eye on any damage caused by the quake. He asked brigade personnel not to blow sirens because it would create panic among people.

In Nawabshah, a large number of people came out of their homes and remained on roads for several hours.

In the districts of Larkana, Qambar-Shahdadkot also people spent hours in the cold night away from their homes.

The level of panic and fear was the same in the districts of Dadu and Badin and a large number of people were seen outside their homes till early Wednesday morning.

People rushed outside their homes as tremors jolted their areas. This correspondent received numerous calls from different locations and callers were worried about the magnitude of the earthquake and damages, if any.

In Dadu district strong tremors were also felt triggering fear among the residents who then spent a sleepless night outside their homes.

Badin district too, was jolted with people residing in different towns and coastal villages rushing out of their homes in fear.