Strongest earthquake in area during last 100 years

ISLAMABAD—This was the strongest earthquake in the area during the last hundred years, Qamar Uz Zaman, director-general of the Pakistani Meteorological Department, told newsmen.
The temblor’s epicenter was 60 miles (about 100 kilometers) north-northeast of Islamabad and more than six miles below the Earth’s surface, according to the Web site of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Earthquake Information Center.
The quake, which struck about 8:50 a.m. local time (11:50 p.m. Friday EDT, 3.50 a.m. Saturday GMT), was believed to be the strongest in Pakistan in nearly 20 years. Many citizens were still in their beds at the time of the quake.
The quake was “quite shallow,” said David Applegate, senior science advisor for earthquake and geologic hazards for the U.S. Geological Survey. “That means the shaking is going to be very intense”.
The fact that Islamabad was near the epicenter “means a fairly large urban population has experienced some strong shaking,” Applegate said.
There have been some initial aftershocks, he said, “and we expect quite a number more” — some in the 6-plus magnitude range. Those aftershocks could cause additional damage to structures already weakened by the first quake, he said.
A string of about six aftershocks, some ranging between magnitude 5 and 6, were recorded, said Qamar. More were expected in the next 48 hours.
The quake also triggered landslides, resulting in the closure of some highways, officials said.
Pakistan traditionally has been an active region for earthquakes, Applegate said. Saturday’s quake was a “thrust” earthquake, caused by friction between the Indian subcontinent as it pushes against Asia. Although it is the same kind of mechanism that creates tsunamis, the quake was centered far enough inland that there was no danger of a tsunami, he said.
However, Zaman said the region of Pakistan where the quake was centered has been fairly inactive during the last century.
The quake was also felt in India and Afghanistan. In New Delhi, some 400 miles from Islamabad, buildings swayed and furniture moved, causing widespread panic among residents, many of whom rushed into the streets.
The National Earthquake Information Center put the quake at 7.6 magnitude, which it considers “major.” The Pakistani Meteorological Department put the magnitude at 7.5, and Japan’s Meteorological Agency put it at 7.8.
In February 2004, a pair of earthquakes registering 5.5 and 5.4 magnitude, respectively, killed at least 21 people and injured dozens more and destroyed hundreds of homes built of mud, stone and timber in a rugged, mountainous area about 90 miles northwest of Islamabad.
In January 2001, some 30,000 people died in a magnitude 7.7 quake in western India.
Major earthquakes around the world since early last century:
• Oct. 8, 2005: Pakistani Kashmir; magnitude 7.6; hundreds killed.
• March 28, 2005: Sumatra, Indonesia; magnitude 8.7; up to 1,000 killed.
• Dec. 26, 2004: Sumatra, Indonesia; magnitude 9.0; more than 176,000 people killed in 11 countries from earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
• Dec. 26, 2003: Bam, Iran; magnitude 6.5; more than 26,000 killed.
• May 21, 2003: Northern Algeria; magnitude 6.8; nearly 2,300 killed.
• March 25, 2002: Northern Afghanistan; magnitude 5.8; up to 1,000 killed.
• Jan. 26, 2001: India; magnitude 7.9; at least 2,500 killed. Estimates put death toll as high as 13,000.
• Sept. 21, 1999: Taiwan; magnitude 7.6; 2,400 killed.
• Aug. 17, 1999: Western Turkey; magnitude 7.4; 17,000 killed.
• Jan. 25, 1999: Western Colombia; magnitude 6; 1,171 killed.
• May 30, 1998: Northern Afghanistan and Tajikistan; magnitude 6.9; as many as 5,000 killed.
• Jan. 17, 1995: Kobe, Japan; magnitude 7.2; more than 6,000 killed.
• Sept. 30, 1993: Latur, India; magnitude 6.0; as many as 10,000 killed.
• June 21, 1990: Northwest Iran; magnitude 7.3-7.7; 50,000 killed.
• Dec. 7, 1988: Northwest Armenia; magnitude 6.9; 25,000 killed.
• Sept. 19, 1985: Central Mexico; magnitude 8.1; more than 9,500 killed.
• Sept. 16, 1978: Northeast Iran; magnitude 7.7; 25,000 killed.
• July 28, 1976: Tangshan, China; magnitude 7.8-8.2; 240,000 killed.
• Feb. 4, 1976: Guatemala; magnitude 7.5; 22,778 killed.
• Feb. 29, 1960: Southwest Atlantic coast in Morocco; magnitude 5.7; some 12,000 killed, town of Agadir destroye.—Agencies