Powerful quake hits Pak, ripples felt in Delhi, Rajasthan

New Delhi, Jan 19 (PTI) A powerful quake today strucksouthwestern Pakistan and its effect was felt in Delhi,Rajasthan and parts of western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana wherepeople came out of their homes but there were no reports ofany damage or loss of life.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said theepicentre of the 7.4 magnitude quake on the Richter scale waslocated in a desert area of southwestern Pakistan borderingIran 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 westernUP.

Slight tremors were also felt in Kashmir, the Metoffice in Srinagar said.

Delhi Police, the city''s Disaster Management Authority(DDMA) and the fire department said there were no reports ofany damage and loss of life due to the quake.

"It was a shallow earthquake which struck at a depthof 7.4 km," an IMD official said.A DDMA official said they have received a report thata person sustained injuries when he jumped off from his secondfloor residence in Laxmi Nagar area after the quake. But hesaid he could not verify whether the man had jumped because ofthe tremor.

"The man has been admitted to a nearby hospital and weare waiting for detailed reports," said the official.

The epicentre of the quake was located at latitude28.9 degrees north and longitude 64 degrees east, the IMDsaid, categorising the earthquake as "great".

A US Geological Service report said the epicentre ofthe earthquake was located 45 km from Dalbandin in SouthwestPakistan.

A 7.6 magnitude earthquake had devastated northernPakistan and parts of Kashmir in October 2008, killingthousands of people.