7.4 Magnitude of earthquake Hits in Southwestern Pakistan

7.4 Magnitude of earthquake Hits in Southwestern Pakistan.

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit a remote area of southwest Pakistan at 1:23 a.m on Wednesday (3:23 p.m. ET on Tuesday). The quake shook parts of Pakistan with tremors reaching to the United Arab Emirates and India.

The center of the earthquake was in Baluchistan province, the most sparsely populated area in Pakistan. AOL News reports the epicenter was 200 miles southwest of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan, not far from the Afghan border.

Dalbandin was the closest town to the epicenter. Its population is around 15,000 people. Currently there is no word on damage in this area.

Another town near the epicenter, Karan, had no major damage according to Karan's deputy commissioner Fateh Bangar.

A Karan police office, Nasir Baluch, indicated several mud houses were damaged or collapsed outside Mashkil. There is no news at this time about casualties in the sparsely populated area.

While there was no major damage in Quetta, there was widespread panic. Residents of Karachi ran into the streets.

Tremors of about 20 seconds were felt in New Delhi and Dubai.

According to CNN, Arid Mahmood, director of the Pakistan Meteorological Department, stated, “Earthquakes with such magnitudes in the past have brought on aftershocks.”

The Pakistan earthquake was originally reported by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) at 7.4 magnitude. Earthquakes between 7.0 and 7.9 are major and any over 8.0 is classified as great.

Kurt Frankel of the Georgia Institute of Technology indicated the area of the earth is where two tectonic plates come together. He said, “It's not uncommon for this region to have earthquakes.”