A magnitude 5.9 earthquake shook parts of Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan on Saturday, triggering panic as residents rushed outside. Authorities reported no immediate damage or casualties, with emergency services put on alert in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Saturday’s shaking started fast and ended, for now, without the worst-case outcome officials feared.
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit parts of Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan, sending panicked residents rushing out of their homes, authorities said. In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the tremor was felt as well, compounding the sense that danger had moved closer to home.
The epicenter was located in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department. The quake was felt in Islamabad. in Pakistan’s eastern province of Punjab. and in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. which borders Afghanistan. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, emergency services said district administrations were placed on alert.
Anwar Shahzad, a spokesman for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, said initial assessments found no reports of casualties or damage.
Pakistan sits along an active seismic zone and is frequently affected by earthquakes. The memory of what seismic activity can do is hard to shake: a magnitude 7.6 earthquake in 2005 killed tens of thousands of people in Pakistan and Kashmir. the disputed Himalayan region divided between Pakistan and India and claimed by both countries.
For now, officials are focused on what comes next—whether additional assessments continue to find no damage, and how quickly people who experienced the sudden, jarring movement can return to ordinary life.
5.9 earthquake Pakistan Afghanistan Hindu Kush Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Islamabad Punjab Pakistan-administered Kashmir Provincial Disaster Management Authority
5.9?? that’s basically nothing til it hits you I guess.
My cousin in Islamabad said the lights flickered like crazy then everyone ran outside. Glad they’re saying no damage but “no reports” always sounds temporary. Afghanistan stuff always feels so far away until it’s in Pakistan too.
Wait so it hit Pakistan and Afghanistan but epicenter is in Afghanistan? I don’t get how the quake “moved closer to home” if it’s already close. Also Khyber Pakhtunkhwa borders Afghanistan so wouldn’t it always feel it? Either way people should stop pretending earthquakes are rare.
The way they rushed outside like panic is me when the microwave makes a weird sound. I’m reading “no immediate damage” and thinking that’s just what they say first before they realize what fell. Pakistan being on an active seismic zone… ok so why aren’t buildings built better there? The 2005 quake memory is still haunting, so I’m sure they’re watching every aftershock.