KHUZDAR, Pakistan / AsiaWire.IO / – A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck near Khuzdar in Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Saturday, October 17, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences. The GFZ said the quake struck at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres, or about 6 miles. Shallow earthquakes can produce stronger shaking at the surface than deeper events of a similar size. Initial reports did not mention casualties or damage. Khuzdar lies in the central part of the province.
The GFZ issued the magnitude and depth figures through its global earthquake monitoring service. The Potsdam-based centre publishes rapid estimates for significant seismic events worldwide. Such early readings can be revised as more seismic data becomes available. Initial reports on Saturday’s tremor relied on the GFZ estimate. Further details on the quake’s effects in Khuzdar and nearby districts had not been released in the first reports.
Balochistan lies in a seismically active zone on the southern edge of the Eurasian plate. The Indian and Eurasian plates converge obliquely along Pakistan’s western margin. Fault systems including the Chaman Fault and the Sulaiman fold and thrust belt run through the region. Movement along these structures has produced several destructive earthquakes over the past century. Pakistan’s western provinces regularly record moderate tremors as a result.
Balochistan has a long history of deadly quakes
The 1935 Quetta earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.7, killed between 30,000 and 60,000 people. A magnitude 8.1 earthquake off the Makran coast in 1945 triggered a tsunami and killed about 4,000 people. In 2008, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Ziarat District killed 215 people. In September 2013, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Awaran District, which borders Khuzdar, killed 825 people and injured about 700.
More recently, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Harnai District on October 7, 2021. The quake hit in the early hours while many residents were asleep and killed at least 42 people. About 300 people were injured, and roughly 10,000 mud homes were destroyed in Harnai and the Shahrag area. Landslides blocked roads and slowed rescue operations. Hospitals were overwhelmed, and some of the injured were airlifted to Quetta.
Pakistan records several tremors in 2026
Saturday’s earthquake follows other seismic activity across Pakistan this year. A quake shook Gilgit-Baltistan near Sost in August. In April, Pakistan felt a magnitude 6.2 earthquake centred in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region. Pakistan lies across the boundary of the Indian and Eurasian plates, which meet beneath the country. That position makes earthquakes a recurring hazard from the northern mountains to the southwestern coast.
Moderate earthquakes of this size can damage weaker buildings near the epicentre, particularly where construction standards are low. Aftershocks often follow shallow earthquakes in the region. The 2021 Harnai quake was followed by two aftershocks of magnitude 4.6 and 4.5. Initial reports on Saturday’s earthquake did not detail any aftershocks. Further information is expected as local authorities assess conditions around Khuzdar.