6.5-magnitude earthquake jolts parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan-Xinhua

6.5-magnitude earthquake jolts parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2023-03-22 09:02:00

KABUL/ISLAMABAD, March 22 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 on Richter scale has jolted parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, causing panic.

The official number of casualties is not yet available at the time.

The quake hit the Afghan capital Kabul and several more provinces in the country at 09:17 p.m. local time on Tuesday night, the country's national disaster management authority said on its Twitter account.

According to the disaster management authority, the epicenter of the tremor was in the northern Badakhshan province.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicenter, with a depth of 187.589 km, was initially determined to be at 36.5227 degrees north latitude and 70.9787 degrees east longitude.

In the meantime, a villager from the province's Jarm district on the condition of anonymity told Xinhua that the "earthquake was very strong and some houses might have been damaged or destroyed".

The provincial head of the national disaster management authority in Badakhshan, Mohammad Akbar Akrami told Xinhua that one person sustained injury and seven houses were destroyed. The official also noted that it is too early to collect information on possible casualties, citing difficulty during the night time.

Another resident from Warsaj district of Badakhshan's neighboring Takhar province told Xinhua that some residential houses were destroyed due to the quake.

In the strong earthquake on Tuesday night in Pakistan, no loss of life was immediately reported. The quake caused panic among people who fled from their homes.