Deadly Earthquake

A deadly earthquake, measured at 7.5 on the Richter scale has wreaked havoc in Northern Pakistan, India and parts of Afghanistan. In one report it was stated that a significant percentage of Punjab and NWFP provinces of Pakistan has been impacted.

The epicenter of the earthquake has been identified about 60 miles from Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. Tremors were felt in a region that was as wide as several hundred miles. As far as Delhi in India.

Extensive relief efforts have been ongoing and the death and damage toll is being revised upwards as status reports are trickling in from various parts of the region. At least 1300 deaths have been already reported. Complicating the relief efforts are infrequent follow-on tremors and heavy rains in some impacted regions.

This earthquake is perhaps the most intense one seen in this region for over 100 years. Initial reports suggest that the overall intensity was almost the same as the Gujrat quake in 2001 that killed thousands of people and higher than the Quetta earthquake in 1935 that razed that city to the ground.