Earthquake of 4.7 magnitude jolts Gilgit city, surrounding areas

GILGIT: Earthquake jolts measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale were felt here in the city and surrounding areas in the wee hours of Thursday morning.

According to National Seismic Monitoring Centre, the epicenter of the quake which struck on early Thursday morning was located 35 kilometres southwest of Skardu at the depth of 15 kilometres.

Following the jolts, people came out of their homes in panic and started reciting verses of the Holy Quran.

No loss of life and property was reported in aftermath of the jolts.

Earlier this year in February month, the earthquake tremors were felt northern areas of the country including capital Islamabad and Rawalpindi city.

The quake measuring 5.3 on the Richter Scale was felt in northwestern upper parts of the country, with no reports of damages. The jolts were felt in Haripur, Islamabad, Peshawar, Mansehra, Dir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Shangla.

The quake originated 48km east-northeast of Shughnon, Tajikistan and had a depth of 133.8km, the USGS said.

An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth, resulting from the sudden release of energy in the Earth’s lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Thus, earthquakes can range in size.