A magnitude 6.5 earthquake has rattled much of Pakistan and\u00a0Afghanistan, sending panicked residents fleeing from homes and offices, and frightening people even in remote villages. At least nine people died in Pakistan and two in Afghanistan, officials said on Wednesday<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 200 people were brought to hospitals in the Swat valley region of Pakistan\u2019s north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in a state of shock, said Bilal Faizi, a spokesperson for Pakistan\u2019s emergency services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These terrified people collapsed, and some of them collapsed because of the shock of the earthquake,\u201d he said. Faizi said most were later discharged from the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Faizi and other officials said nine people were killed when roofs collapsed in various parts of north-western Pakistan during the quake late on Tuesday. The nine people who died in north-west Pakistan included five men, two women and two children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dozens of others were injured in the quake, which was centred in\u00a0Afghanistan\u00a0and also felt in bordering Tajikistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taimoor Khan, a spokesperson for the provincial disaster management authority in the north-west, said at least 19 mudbrick homes collapsed in remote areas. \u201cWe are still collecting data about the damages,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The powerful tremors sent many people fleeing from their homes and offices in Pakistan\u2019s capital of Islamabad, some reciting verses from the Qur\u2019an, Islam\u2019s holy book. Media reports suggested cracks had appeared in some apartment buildings in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Afghanistan, Sharafat Zaman Amar, Taliban\u2019s appointed spokesman for the public health ministry said, so far at least two people died and around 20 others were injured in the earthquake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zaman Amar said: \u201cUnfortunately, there could be more casualties as the quake was so powerful, in most parts of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe quake was so strong and terrifying, we thought houses are collapsing on us, people were all shouting and were shocked,\u201d said Shafiullah Azimi, a Kabul resident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US Geological Survey said the centre of the magnitude 6.5 quake was 40km (25 miles) south-south-east of Jurm in Afghanistan\u2019s mountainous Hindukush region, bordering Pakistan and Tajikistan. It said the depth of the earthquake was 187.6 km (116 miles).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rakhshinda Tauseed, a physician, said she was at her hospital in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore when the earthquake hit. \u201cI quickly asked patients to go move to a safer place,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Khurram Shahzad, a resident in Pakistan\u2019s garrison city of Rawalpindi, said he was having dinner with his family at a restaurant when the walls started swaying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI quickly thought that it is a big one, and we left the restaurant and came out,\u201d he said. He said he saw hundreds of people standing on the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The situation was similar in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on the border with Afghanistan, where people were seen standing outside their homes and offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pakistan\u2019s prime minister, Shahbaz Sharif, said he asked disaster management officials to remain vigilant to handle any situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zabihullah Mujahid, the main spokesman for the Taliban government in Afghanistan, tweeted that the ministry of public health had ordered all health centres to be on standby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The region is prone to violent seismic upheavals. A magnitude 7.6 quake in 2005\u00a0killed thousands of people in Pakistan and Kashmir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n