Earthquake causes panic in Kashmir

Panic gripped people on Wednesday as an earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale jolted the Kashmir Valley.

Met Department officials said a moderate intensity earthquake occurred at 12.36 p.m. with the epicentre on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

People rushed out of their homes and workplaces in the Valley as houses swayed under the influence of the temblor.

Traffic stopped at many places in Srinagar city and other places. Some vehicles seemed to wobble for a while.

Although authorities were still in the process of gathering reports about damage to life and property, some reports said a flyover being built in Srinagar had suffered damage.

Kashmir is situated in an earthquake prone region where massive damage to life and property has been caused by earthquakes in the past.

On October 8, 2005, a powerful earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale killed about 80,000 people in Indian and Pakistan administered parts of divided Kashmir.

--IANS

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