Damages reported following major quake in south Pakistan

Moderate damages were reported after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Pakistan's southwest province of Balochistan on Tuesday afternoon, according to local officials and media reports. Local Urdu TV channel Geo said that two people were killed and eight others injured in Awaran, a small town most close to the epicenter of the earthquake. Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said on its website that the epicenter is located 120 km southwest of Khuzda in central Balochistan. Several houses in Awaran also collapsed in the quake, said Geo, adding that local residents are trying to rescue people buried under the debris. According to local media reports, three people were injured in Balbandin, a small town located some 280 km northwest of Khuzda while two schools were leveled to ground in Hub which lies over 300 km to the southeast of Khuzda and several house collapsed in Gwadar, a port city located at the southwestern tip of Balochistan. Emergency has been declared at hospitals and concerned government departments in all earthquake-hit areas across Balochistan, said a spokesman of the provincial government of Balochistan. The earthquake took place at 4:29 p.m. local time and the focal depth is 10 km under the ground, said PMD. Strong tremors were felt in many parts of the country, from the southern port city of Karachi, to the eastern city of Lahore and northwestern parts of the country. The quake caused a great panic in the densely populated Karachi where people rushed out of their homes and offices, reported local media. Local meteorological department officials said the epicenter of the earthquake was located in a sparsely populated area and the impact of the earthquake is yet to be determined as communication from the most-hit area of Awaran has been cut off in the quake.