Magnitude 5.1 earthquake jolts Islamabad

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake jolts Islamabad, the US Geological Survey (USGS) says. Although the quake had a moderate magnitude, its epicentre was only 16 kilometres north-east of the populous city.

It struck at 1:59 am local time on Saturday and was very shallow, 26 kilometres deep, the USGS said.

Residents of the Pakistani capital reported buildings and vehicles shaking after the quake hit, but there were no immediate reports of major damage.

The quake was felt in several Pakistani cities in the provinces of eastern Punjab and north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ghulam Rasul, a senior meteorologist at the Pakistan Meteorological Department said.

The local meteorologists put the size of the quake at magnitude 4.6 and the depth at just 10 kilometres.

Pakistan straddles part of the boundary where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, making the country susceptible to earthquakes.

It was hit by a magnitude 7.6 quake on October 8, 2005 that killed more than 73,000 people and left about 3.5 million homeless, mainly in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake devastated several areas in south-western Baluchistan province in September 2013, killing at least 370 people and leaving 100,000 homeless.

Source: USGS (http://goo.gl/O0dKE3)