More than 200 killed as powerful earthquake rocks south Asia

Ten people, including two army soldiers, were injured.

The quake was centered in the Hindu Kush Mountains of northern Afghanistan.

Residents in Kashmir, where electricity and phone lines are apparently down, told ANI news that it was “terrifying”. He said as many as 813 houses collapsed in Malakand. Seventy-one of those deaths were in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 18 in the federally administered tribal areas, four in the Gilgit-Baltistan region and one in Punjab.

Pakistan’s Chitral region was worst hit in the natural disaster, a Reuters report from Kabul said.

In the Afghan capital, Kabul, buildings shook violently but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Many people fled to the streets.

In the Indian capital, office workers streamed into the streets following the tremors, which lasted around a minute.

The shaking was reportedly felt as far away as New Delhi in India, and closer to the epicentre, communication and power outages were reported. “I was trying to recite a prayer unknowingly without any sequence of words”.

The Afghan provinces of Nangarhar and Takhar were hit hard.

At least 180 people are dead after the magnitude 7.5 struck late yesterday.

Tremors were also felt in Pakistan and India’s north. According to preliminary estimates, 13 people have been killed in Pakistan.

It says the roof collapsed Monday in the eastern city of Kasur.

Pakistan military chief General Raheel Sharif mobilized troops and helicopters to immediately distribute rescue equipment to the region.

India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has ordered an urgent assessment of any damage.

People injured in the quake receive medical treatment outside a hospital in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

The 7.7-magnitude quake struck at 1:39 pm (0909 GMT) at a depth of 213 kilometers, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The Associated Press says the death toll is at least 43. Jim Dresbach adapted this story for Learning English.

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