Islamabad, Jan 19: A powerful earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale that hit a remote area of southwest Pakistan today shook the ground from Delhi to Dubai, damaging about 200 structures though there were no reports of direct casualties.
 However, two women – one in Jacobabad in Sindh province and another at Quetta in Balochistan – died of heart attacks during the quake while three persons were taken to hospital at Multan in Punjab after suffering cardiac arrest, Geo News channel reported.
 Initial reports indicated that around 200 mud houses near the epicentre of the quake in Balochistan province were damaged though there were no reports of loss of lives, National Disaster Management Authority Chairman Nadeem Ahmed said.
 The earthquake occurred at 1:23 am Pakistan time at a depth of 84 km, the US Geological Survey said. Its epicentre was 45 km west of Dalbandin, a remote town in Balochistan with a population of 15,000.
 Pakistan Meteorological Department Director Arif Mahmood said the quake was felt in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan and parts of Iran and India.
 He said quakes of such magnitude in the past were followed by aftershocks.
 People living near the epicentre in Kalat, Dalbadin and Kharan districts told CNN some mud-walled homes were damaged but no one was hurt. People in Balochistan and Sindh said they had felt buildings sway during the quake.
 The temblor shook the cities of Hyderabad, Quetta, Jaffarabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Multan and Sargodha. Residents of high-rise buildings in Karachi rushed out into the streets.
 A powerful quake today struck south-western Pakistan and its effect was felt in Delhi, Rajasthan and parts of western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana where people came out of their homes but there were no reports of any damage or loss of life.
 The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the epicentre of the 7.4 magnitude quake on the Richter scale was located in a desert area of southwestern Pakistan bordering Iran and Afghanistan. The quake hit the region at 1:53 AM. Besides Delhi, the tremors were also felt in Jaipur, Barmer, Jaisalmer and Ganganagar, parts of Haryana and western UP. Slight tremors were also felt in Kashmir, the Met office in Srinagar said.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 19 Jan 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 19 Jan 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 20 Jan 2011 00:00:00 IST