Powerful Earthquake Strikes Pakistan, India and Afghanistan
By SALMAN MASOOD
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A powerful earthquake rattled parts of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan on Sunday, shaking buildings and houses and causing panic in several cities.
There were no immediate reports of widespread damage from the quake, which had a preliminary magnitude of 6.6, but at least one person was reported to have been killed and two dozen were injured, the Pakistani authorities said.
The earthquake was centered 25 miles west of Ashkasham in a remote northeastern region of Afghanistan, near the country’s borders with Tajikistan and Pakistan, the United States Geological Survey said. It was measured at a depth of 130 miles.
At least 20 people with minor injuries were admitted to the Lady Reading Hospital in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, the local news media reported.
Tremors also forced residents to leave their homes in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan; in New Delhi, the Indian capital; and in Kashmir, Reuters reported witnesses as saying. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in those areas.
In Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, the powerful jolts sent people running out of high-rise apartment buildings.
“I was watching a movie on my laptop when the room started shaking,” said Muhammad Nasir, 30, who lives on the second floor of an apartment complex. “I rushed downstairs after the first tremor. Almost all of the residents of the building were outside within seconds. They came out like bees.”
The tremors were also felt in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore. Local television news networks broadcast images of people standing in the streets in several cities, many with their hands raised toward the sky as they prayed for safety.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif directed provincial and federal authorities to remain alert and provide assistance to those affected by the earthquake.
Pakistani officials said they were assessing the damage. Reema Zubari, an official for the National Disaster Management Authority, said the Pakistan Air Force had been asked to conduct aerial photography to evaluate damage to infrastructure and examine the slope stability of mountains in northern parts of the country.
Pakistan is considered an area of high seismic activity, and quakes have shaken the country regularly in recent years. In October, a 7.5- magnitude earthquake shook Pakistan and Afghanistan and left more than 200 people dead. In 2005, tens of thousands were killed when a 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck in Kashmir.
6.6強震 撼動印、巴、阿3國
阿富汗東北部靠近塔吉克邊界處十日發生芮氏規模六點六強震,撼動阿富汗、巴基斯坦與印度部分地區。巴基斯坦西北部白夏瓦市有三人受傷。印度民營新聞社「印度—亞洲新聞社」報導,巴基斯坦有兩人死亡,十人受傷。
美國地質調查局說,震央在阿富汗東北部伊什卡希姆村以西四十公里處,靠近塔吉克邊界,也鄰近巴基斯坦西北部的奇特拉爾縣,震源深度兩百一十公里。巴基斯坦政府說,地震規模是七點一。
白夏瓦有三人因為身體多處受傷而送醫。當地震來襲時,阿富汗首都喀布爾與巴基斯坦首都伊斯蘭馬巴德市民奪門而出,這兩地的建築物都搖晃超過一分鐘。電視畫面顯示,伊斯蘭馬巴德市民嚇得當街祈禱。
印度首都新德里和喀什米爾地區居民都感受到震動,新德里一些在高樓大廈上班的人趕忙逃到馬路上。新德里電視台報導,新德里地鐵列車暫時停駛。
伊斯蘭馬巴德附近拉瓦爾品第市的學生奇蘭.薩伊德說,地震來時她正在家裡看書,椅子突然搖晃起來,起先她以為有人推她,「結果我一轉頭,發現根本沒人,而且連牆壁都開始晃起來,我們趕緊逃到外面,每個人都在念古蘭經的句子祈禱」。
伊斯蘭馬巴德居民莎赫巴.比比說,地震來時建築物晃得厲害,她差點跌到地上,「現在想起來還很怕」。
當地因位於印度板塊撞擊歐亞大陸板塊區域,經常發生強震。去年十月阿富汗和巴基斯坦邊界的芮氏規模七點五強震,造成近三百人喪生。
原文參照:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/11/world/asia/earthquake-pakistan-india-afghanistan.html
2016-04-11.聯合報.A13.國際.編譯李京倫