Magnitude earthquake shakes Pakistan and Afghanistan, no damage reported

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck parts of Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan on Saturday, prompting residents to flee their homes, though officials reported no immediate damage. The epicenter was in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region, according to Pakistan’s Meteorological Department. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at magnitude 6.1. Tremors were felt in Islamabad and in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan, and also in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, district administrations were placed on alert for emergency response. Pakistan lies along an active seismic zone and frequently experiences earthquakes; a 7.6 event in 2005 killed tens of thousands across Pakistan and Kashmir. Afghanistan has also suffered repeated quakes in recent years, with thousands of fatalities reported.