LAHORE, Pakistan – Everything seemed normal. Life was going in the usual way until at 2:09 p.m., Pakistan Standard Time, we were hit by an earthquake.
My personal experience was quite a scary one. I was at home with my sister and my mother, sitting on my bed when I felt the earthquake.I could see the fan swinging. The next moment there were stronger tremors and I could hear the doors and glass windows rattling.
As we live on second floor in an apartment building, I could feel the tremors quite well. We rushed out of our apartment and went outside the building. About five minutes later, when things seemed to cool down, we went inside and got more news about it.
The earthquake, measured by the U.S. Geological Survey at 7.5, struck about 158 miles – or 254 km – northeast of Kabul, Afghanistan near the Hindu Kush mountain range. It was felt by people in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. It’s still unclear how many people died or were hurt.
Since the quake, there is a high alert situation in Pakistan. The northern mountain areas have been most affected, with landslides and melting or breaking glaciers.
Local news channels here are reporting massive property damage in the affected areas.
This earthquake is one of the strongest in the history of Pakistan. In 2005, an earthquake of about 7.6 magnitude killed at least 86,000 people, according to the U.S. Geological
Survey.
Survey.
Let’s pray this one doesn’t claim so many lives.
Irha Nadeem is a Junior Reporter for Youth Journalism International.
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