Updated at: 0227 PST, Wednesday, January 19, 2011
 ISLAMABAD: A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck various parts of the country, the U.S. Geological Survey said on Tuesday.
Fears of major damage in the remote area eased when the US agency revised an initial estimate that the quake was very shallow and said it probably centred at a depth of 52 miles (83 km), 55 km (34 miles) west of Dalbandin, a town of about 15,000 people.
It had earlier said the quake, at 1:23 a.m. local time on Wednesday (2023 GMT on Tuesday), had been at only about 6 miles (10 km) depth and of a magnitude of 7.4.
First reports from the region, close to the troubled frontier with Afghanistan, suggested injuries may have been limited, not least given the sparseness of the population.
Residents in major cities as far apart as the Indian capital New Delhi and the Gulf emirate of Dubai said they felt tremors, as did people in Pakistan's major port of Karachi, although there were no early reports there of damage or injuries.
The Pacific Tsunami Center said the onshore quake had not triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean.
A major quake of this magnitude, if at a shallow depth and close to population centres, is capable of causing widespread and heavy damage and could pose fresh strains on a country still reeling from devastating floods last year which left more than 10 million people homeless.
On Oct. 8, 2005, a 7.6 magnitude quake 95 km (60 miles) northeast of the Pakistani capital Islamabad killed over 70,000 people. |
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