5.3-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Balochistan with No Reported Casualties

A magnitude-5.3 earthquake struck Balochistan on Sunday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the shallow quake, which USGS reported had occurred at around 3:30am with the epicentre almost 60 kilometres north-northeast of Barkhan city of Balochistan.

Senior levies officer Tuqeer Shah told Dawn.com that the Earthquake hit vast areas of Rara Shaim, Kingri and others. According to initial reports, at least three people, including a couple, were injured in the Rara Shaim area of Barkhan after the roof of their house sustained damage. Over half a dozen houses have been damaged, while cracks have appeared in many others in Rara Shaim.

Shah added that the injured have been admitted to the hospital, while teams have been sent to the impacted areas to see the scope of the damage. Pakistan straddles the boundary where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, making the country susceptible to earthquakes. The region can be challenging to navigate during crisis situations — in 2015, a 7.5-magnitude quake in Pakistan and Afghanistan killed almost 400 people across rugged terrain that impeded relief efforts.

The country was also hit by a 7.6-magnitude quake in 2005 that killed more than 73,000 people and left about 3.5 million homeless, mainly in Azad Kashmir. Balochistan saw a quake in 2021 that killed at least 20 people and left more than 10 injured, with landslides hampering initial rescue efforts in the remote mountainous district of Harnai.

According to the source: Dawn.