6.2-magnitude earthquake hits parts of Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - An earthquake measuring 6.2-magnitude on the Richter scale jolted parts of Pakistan on Sunday night, local media and Pakistan's National Seismic Monitoring Center said.

According to the Pakistan's National Seismic Monitoring Center, a branch of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the strong tremor was felt in the country's northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, tribal region bordering Afghanistan, eastern Punjab province and capital Islamabad at about 11:16 pm (local time).

The earthquake was felt in at least 35 districts of the country, including northwestern districts of Peshawar, Swat, Malakand, Chitral, Swat and Lower Dir and other areas bordering Afghanistan.

The tremors created panic among people who rushed out of their houses to the open places at the cold night. No loss of life or property was reported from any area yet.

The epicenter of the earthquake was determined at a focal depth of 86 km at the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region.

Pakistan is among the most earthquake-prone regions of the world with high vulnerability to earthquakes.

On October 26 this year, an earthquake of 8.1 magnitude struck parts of Pakistan, killing at least 280 people, wounding over 1,900 others and damaging 100,552 houses and 1,426 schools.

In October 2005, a high intensity earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale hit parts of the country, causing large scale destruction and killing over 80,000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands others homeless.