Home Latest News Strong 6.3 Quake Strikes off Pakistan Coast

Strong 6.3 Quake Strikes off Pakistan Coast

by AFP

No injuries reported after early morning tremors in Balochistan province.

A strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Pakistan early Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

The shallow quake struck at 3:03 a.m., with the epicenter 23 kilometers southwest of the coastal town of Pasni, the USGS said. There were no immediate reports of casualties in Balochistan province, which covers the quake zone.

An AFP reporter in provincial capital Quetta said residents in towns and cities near the epicenter, including the port of Gwadar, woke in panic and rushed out of their homes reciting verses from the Quran.

Pakistan straddles part of the boundary where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, making the country susceptible to earthquakes. In October 2015, a 7.5-magnitude quake in Pakistan and Afghanistan killed almost 400 people, flattening buildings in rugged terrain that impeded relief efforts.

The country was also hit by a 7.6-magnitude quake on Oct. 8, 2005 that killed more than 73,000 people and left about 3.5 million homeless, mainly in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

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