Islamabad: An earthquake of 6.3 magnitude jolted parts of Pakistan on Sunday but so far there was no report of any loss to life or property. According to the Meteorological Department, the quake's depth was 150 km with the epicentre being in Tajikistan.
The department also reported that the latest tremor hit the country at around 12:54 pm and had a longitude of 69.65 East and a latitude of 38.65 North. However, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, an independent tracker of earthquakes through crowdsourced information, said that the earthquake took place near Attock in Punjab province of Pakistan.
Radio Pakistan reported that there were no immediate reports of casualties. The tremor was felt in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and other areas of the country. Pakistan is located in a quake-prone region. The deadliest jolt in 2005 killed more than 74,000 people in the country.
Ealrlier in the month, an earthquake of magnitude 5.8 on the Richter Scale jolted several parts of Pakistan. Pakistan's Geo News reported no loss of life so far. The epicenter of the earthquake was Afghanistan's Hindu Kush region, according to Pakistan's National Seismic Monitoring Centre (NSMC).
After the unprecedented earthquake last June, more than 30 million people in Pakistan have been affected by torrential rains and flash floods, leaving 6.4 million people in need of immediate support.
Since June last year, hundreds of thousands have been displaced by the floods, and are now living in camps, or with host families. Months after unprecedented floods ravaged Pakistan, vast swathes of cropland and villages remain under water.
According to UNICEF, millions of people are still exposed to floodwaters or living close to flooded areas. Many families are still living in makeshift tents alongside the road or near the rubble of their home - often in the open, right next to contaminated and stagnant water.
Frail, hungry, children are fighting a losing battle against severe acute malnutrition, diarrhoea, malaria, dengue fever, typhoid, acute respiratory infections, and painful skin conditions. As well as physical ailments, the longer the crisis continues, the greater the risk to children's mental health.
Hundreds of thousands of homes have been damaged or destroyed, while many public health facilities, water systems and schools have been destroyed or damaged, the UN agency added. (With Agency Inputs)
