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Daniel Moss

At least 200 people killed and more than 1000 injured in a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that hit northeastern Afghanistan on Monday.
Centered near Jurm in Afghanistan, the quake - which lasted a minute - was felt in Pakistan and India, sending thousands of frightened people rushing into the streets.

Watch: Death toll mounts after Afghanistan earthquake
The death toll continue to rise rapidly amid reports of buildings reduced to rubble, with Pakistan heavily hit.
Horrifying news emerged of at least 12 schoolgirls being trampled to death  in the  northern Afghan province.
“The students rushed to escape the school building in Taluqan city (capital  of Takhar), triggering a stampede,” Takhar education department chief Enayat  Naweed told AFP.
“Twelve students, all minors, were killed and 35 others were injured.” 
The quake struck 250 kilometres (160 miles) northeast of the capital Kabul, in the remote area of the Hindu Kush mountain range just shortly after 2pm Pakistan Standard Time.
It had a depth of 213.5 kilometres (132 miles), the US Geological Survey said.
The USGS initially measured the quake's intensity at 7.7 then revised it down to 7.6 and later to 7.5.
At least one aftershock hit shortly afterwards, with the USGS putting its magnitude at 4.8.
In a statistical prediction on its website, the agency said there was a one-third chance of the number of fatalities climbing to between 100 and 1,000  people, with several million dollars’ worth of damage likely caused.

 The rescue effort was being complicated by the lack of communications, with  the region’s already-fragile infrastructure hit.
Gul Mohammad Bidar, deputy governor of Badakhshan in Afghanistan, told AFP  lines were down and it was difficult to reach stricken communities.
“The earthquake was very powerful -- buildings have been damaged (in  Faizabad) and there are possible casualties. We have sent a team around the  capital Faizabad to assess the scale of the destruction.”
Cellphone networks were down in the Kashmir region, where panicked  residents also evacuated buildings and children were seen huddling together  outside their school in the main city of Srinagar.

“Some bridges and buildings got damaged. There are no reports of loss of  life so far. Cellphone networks are down, we are using our wireless network to  gather information,” police inspector general in Kashmir, Javid Gillani, told  AFP.
Many buildings were badly damaged during massive floods in Kashmir a year  ago, heightening the danger of collapse during the quake.
Pakistan mobilised its troops and all military hospitals have been put on  high alert, army spokesman Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa said, adding that  specialised earthquake rescue machinery and army helicopters were being readied  for use.

The Pakistan Air Force said it was offering full support to the National  Disaster Management Authority.
Arbab Muhammad Asim, district mayor for Pakistan’s northwestern city of  Peshawar, said more than 100 people had been injured there alone.
“Many houses and buildings have collapsed in the city,” he said.

Dr Muhammad Sadiq, the head of emergency services at a government hospital  in Peshawar, confirmed the number of injuries.
“Many more injured are still coming to hospital. Many are still under rubble,” Sadiq told AFP.
Buildings shook violently in Kabul and tremors were felt across northwestern Pakistan and its central Punjab province.

In the Pakistani capital, walls swayed back and forth and people poured out of office buildings in a panic, reciting verses from the Quran.
Zahid Rafiq, an official with the meteorological department, said the quake was felt across the country. In Islamabad, buildings shook and people poured into the streets in a panic, with many reciting verses from the Quran.
“I was praying when the massive earthquake rattled my home. I came out in a panic,” said Munir Anwar, a resident of Liaquat Pur in the eastern Punjab province.
Officials in Pakistan said communications had been cut off to remote areas, making it impossible to get reports on conditions in those areas.
They said ambulances have been dispatched from Abbottabad to some of the mountainous areas worst affected in Pakistan’s last major earthquake, in 2005.
READ MORE: 'I couldn’t believe how violently the road was shaking': Chinese tourists recount horrors of Nepal earthquake

As buildings shook throughout north India, hundreds poured onto the streets and car parks  from office blocks, hospitals and and homes.
New Delhi’s metro ground to a halt during the tremor although the airport  continued operating, no damage was immediately reported there.
I was praying when the massive earthquake rattled my home. I came out in a panic
Munir Anwar
The earthquake struck almost exactly six months after Nepal suffered its worst quake on record, on April 24. Including the toll from a major aftershock in May, 9,000 people lost their lives and damaging or destroying 900,000 homes.
The mountainous region is a seismically active region, with earthquakes the result of the Indian subcontinent driving into and under the Eurasian landmass. Such tectonic shifts can cause enormous and destructive releases of energy.
The epicentre is just a few hundred kilometres from the site of a 7.6  magnitude quake that struck in October 2005, killing more than 75,000 people  and displacing some 3.5 million more, although that quake was much shallower.
With reporting from Agence France-Presse, Associated Press and Reuters
 


At least 200 people killed, more than 1,000 injured in 7.5 magnitude earthquake that shook Afghanistan, Pakistan and India

Patients were shifted outdoors at the government medical college hospital after a 7.5 magnitude quake sent tremors across South Asia. Photo: AP

The death toll continue to rise rapidly amid reports of buildings reduced to rubble. Photo: AP

A map pinpointing the epicentre and affected areas of the earthquake that rocked India, Pakistan and Afghanistan today. Photo: US Geological Survey

Indian office workers stand in an open area in a car park following an earthquake in New Delhi today as buildings shook in the centre of the Indian capital. Photo: AFP

People in Srinagar seek safety outside after a 7.5-magnitude earthquake rocked the region. Photo: Reuters

People injured in 7.5 magnitude earthquake receive medical treatment outside a hospital in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Photo: EPA

Afghan residents examine a house damaged in the earthquake. Photo: AFP

People remove debris from a rickshaw on a road in Peshawar, Afghanistan following a 7.5 magnitude earthquake. Photo: EPA

Afghan school boys walk to look a damaged house in Kabul following a powerful earthquake that could be felt across South Asia. Photo: AP

A Pakistani boy stands on the rubble of houses in Kohat after the earthquake today. Photo: AFP

In pictures: Nepal earthquake leaves devastation in its wake

A monk inspects the damage at Nepalese heritage site Syambhunaath Stupa, also known as monkey temple, after a powerful earthquake struck Nepal. Photo: EPA

A man fills water from a water tank near a collapsed temple. Photo: Reuters

Damaged roads are seen after an earthquake. Photo: AFP

Trucks carrying relief materials head for quake-hit areas in Tibet. Photo: Xinhua

A man carries bamboo to set up a makeshift shelter for his family at an open ground. Photo: Reuters

People stand in a queue to get drinking water from a tanker at an open ground. Photo: Reuters

A man surveys the rubble of damaged building. Photo: EPA

Motorcyclists use both sides of a wide crack in the Koteshwor-Suryabinayak Highway caused by the earthquake. Photo: EPA

The Red Cross (IFRC) on 26 April 2015 of rescue workers sifting the ruins of a building for possible survivors. Photo: EPA/Carl Whetham

The damage at Nepalese heritage site Syambhunaath Stupa, also known as monkey temple, after a powerful earthquake earthquake struck Nepal. Photo: EPA

Flames rise from burning funeral pyres during the cremation of victims of Saturday's earthquake, at the Pashupatinath temple on the banks of Bagmati river. Photo: AP

Students light candles and pray for people trapped in Nepal earthquake. Photo: Xinhua

Students light candles and pray for people trapped in Nepal earthquake at the University of South China in Hengyang, Hunan Province. Photo: Xinhua

Exile Tibetans and supporters hold photographs showing the devastation in Nepal during a candlelit vigil in solidarity with the people affected by the earthquake. Photo: AP

Mountaineers and Nepalese Sherpa guides evacuated from Everest Base Camp wait to board a rescue chopper to be flown to Lukla. Photo: AP

Local residents crowd one of the few busses. Photo: EPA

Dozens of tents lie damaged after an avalanche plowed through Mount Everest base camp killing at least 18 people. Photo: EPA

Relatives of eathquake victims cry over their loss. Photo: EPA

Two locals find safe ground in front of a destroyed structure. Photo: EPA

A Nepalese girl takes out belongings from her damaged house in Bhaktapur on the outskirts of Kathmandu. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong survivor suffers flashbacks of Nepal earthquake tragedy

A woman hands over cash at a fundraiser for Nepal's earthquake victims at the Brickhouse in Central. Photo: Franke Tsang

Facebook, Microsoft and other tech firms launch tools to help Nepal earthquake survivors

Nepalese villagers charge their cell phones in an open area in Kathmandu. Tech firms have launched several tools to make it easier to communicate with survivors of the 7.9 magnitude earthquake. Photo: AP

Facebook has promised to match user donations up to US$2 million. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Apple encouraged users of the US iTunes store to donate to the American Red Cross. Photo: SCMP Pictures

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Developing | At least 200 people killed, more than 1,000 injured in 7.5 magnitude earthquake that shook Afghanistan, Pakistan and India