巴基斯坦发生7.9级地震

 　　BY Misbah Saba Malik, Raheela Nazir

　　ISLAMABAD, April 16 (Xinhua) -- At least 35 people were killed, over 180 others injured and hundreds of houses collapsed¹ when a strong earthquake of 7.9 magnitude jolted² parts of southern and southwest Pakistan on Tuesday, local officials said.

　　Arif Mahmood, Director General of Pakistan Meteorological Office, said the earthquake hit Pakistan at local time 15:44:21 p. m. and lasted for about 20 to 25 seconds.

　　He said that the epicenter of the earthquake was located at a depth of 76 km in Iran's mountainous area of Khash near Pakistan border.

　　Mashkel village, located in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, was badly affected³ by the earthquake, as at least 34 people were killed and over 150 others injured due to strong tremors⁴.

　　The injured people were shifted to a nearby hospital where several of them were reportedly in critical conditions.

　　Local media said that over 1,000 houses of the village and its adjacent areas which are home to over 35,000 people, were collapsed in the earthquake.

　　Army sources said that the earthquake razed⁵ hundreds of houses to ground and several people are feared to be buried under the rubbles.

　　More details about casualties and the conditions of injured people are awaited as the affected areas are located in a far flung mountainous region, at about 514 km away from the provincial⁶ capital of Quetta.

　　Inter⁷ Services Public Relations (ISPR), the mouthpiece of Pakistan army, said that a wing of paramilitary Frontier Corps⁸ is carrying out rescue and relief operation in the Mashkel village, and medical teams, food items, tents and medicine have also been airlifted to the quake-hit areas via Army Helicopters.

　　The earthquake also jolted the country's southern port city of Karachi, as at least five people were injured when two buildings partially⁹ collapsed.

　　Flight operations were disrupted due to the earthquake and the airport was closed for some time in Karachi.

　　The earthquake created panic among the public as people rushed out of their houses in fear.

　　Sania Anees, a resident of Karachi, told Xinhua that she was sitting in her office when the earthquake occurred and she ran out for her life.

　　"I was working in my office when everything started shaking and someone shouted "run, it's earthquake", I jumped off my chair and ran out of the office's exit door where my other colleagues were running too, some women were crying in fear, others were praying to God for mercy", Sania said.

　　Elsewhere in Dera Ghazi Khan, a city located in the country's eastern Punjab province, three people were injured and five cattle died in land sliding triggered by earthquake.

　　In a similar incident, one man was killed due to land sliding in the country's southwest Gawadar port area.

　　Meanwhile, in Panjgur district of Balochistan, several barracks of Frontier Constabulary (FC) were damaged in the earthquake, the FC spokesperson said, without mentioning any casualties.

　　Caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso expressed sorrow over the natural disaster and directed concerned officials to quicken the process of rescue and relief operation.

　　President Asif Ali Zardari also expressed grief over the earthquake in Pakistan and Iran, and sympathized with the affected people. He also directed all concerned officials to work in an organized manner to help the affected people.

　　Nawab Ghous Bakhs Barozai, caretaker Chief Minister of Balochistan province, called for a high-level meeting in provincial capital of Quetta and charted out plans for the rescue and relief operation for the affected people.

　　Pakistan is located in one of the most earthquake prone¹⁰ zones of the world. Geographically¹², Pakistan lies in the collision zone between the India tectonic plate to the south and the Eurasian plate to the north.

　　Due to its geographical¹¹ location, Pakistan has faced many serious earthquakes, and the worst one came in 2005 when tremors of 7.6 magnitude killed over 100,000 people and injured 138,000 others.

1 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

2 jolted   

（使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• She was jolted out of her reverie as the door opened. 门一开就把她从幻想中惊醒。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 tremors   

震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动

参考例句：

• The story was so terrible that It'sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。
• The story was so terrible that it sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。

5 razed   

v.彻底摧毁，将…夷为平地( raze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The village was razed to the ground . 这座村庄被夷为平地。
• Many villages were razed to the ground. 许多村子被夷为平地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

7 inter   

v.埋葬

参考例句：

• They interred their dear comrade in the arms.他们埋葬了他们亲爱的战友。
• The man who died in that accident has been interred.在那次事故中死的那个人已经被埋葬了。

8 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

9 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

10 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

11 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

12 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分