Tremors were felt in the national capital and other parts of north India on Tuesday when a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck a remote mountainous part of southwestern Pakistan.
The quake struck at 4:29 pm local time (1129 GMT) around 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of the city of Khuzdar in Balochistan province, at a depth of 15 kilometres.
The US Geological Survey originally gave the earthquake a 7.4 strength at 29 kilometres but later revised their figure. Pakistan’s meteorological office gave the magnitude as 7.7.
At least 40 people have been killed and scores of mud houses have been destroyed in a thinly-populated area, officials and residents said.
A “RED” alert has been issued by the USGS, which means estimated fatalities of more than 1,000 and damages costing over USD 1 billion.
Pakistan’s Geo TV said the earthquake lasted for about a minute. The tremors were felt as far as India’s national capital and other parts of north India at around 5:05 pm local time. According to a news agency, strong tremors shook tall buildings in New Delhi, sending people running into the streets.