Massive Earthquake: 7.6 on Richter Scale

We had a massive earthquake today in Pakistan. It was recorded to be 7.6 on the richter scale. It hit parts of Azad Kashmir, including Muzaffarabad, Rawlakot and Balakot. It hit parts of N.W.F.P., where Abbotabad had the most casualties. Hit many parts of Punjab including Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan. It hit the capital city of Islamabad.

It also hit parts of India and Afghanistan.

The first major tremor was felt at about 8:50 am, today on Saturday. I didn't feel a thing as i was driving to the office. As i reached there i saw everybody standing out of the buildings. Then i was told that a major earthquake has passed only minutes before.

I stood there, outside the 14 storey building, with two of my collegues. Just then my mother called to ask where i was. She told me of the earthquake too and that it was so severe that she was still trembling.

While we were standing there we again felt a tremor. After a while we decided to go back in to the office. We went in and climbed up to the 3rd floor of the Green Trust Tower where our office was. We just entered and were deciding between staying there or leaving when we felt another jolt. Three of us ran out of the office and out of the building. We went inside for one last time after a while, just to shut down my PC and to turn off the lights. We did that in less than a minute, came out of the building and went home.

After reaching home, most of the time was spent in front of the TV, listening to news and updates on the earthquake. One major news was that in Islamabad two buildings of an apartment (Margalla Towers) containg 60 flats had collapsed and people got stuck in the debris. It was really painful to see that there were not many professional rescue workers and the local people themselves were trying to help out.

The rescuers did not have heavy machinery to lift off the big blocks of concrete. They were using hammers and then finally cutters to cut the blocks off.

Muzaffarabad and Rawlakot in Azad Kashmir also got badly hit. Many buildings collapsed there and many people died. Same was the case in Abbotabad where casualty rate was high.

The rescue work is still going on. But now on top of that disaster it has started raining. I feel that it is going to hinder the rescue work that has been going on since morning. I also pray that this work can be accelerated and all the people can be taken out soon.Ameen