5.0 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks Ziarat and Surrounding Areas, No Casualties Reported
Early Saturday, earthquake tremors struck Ziarat and nearby areas, registering a magnitude of 5.0, the National Seismic Monitoring Centre (NSMC) of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) reported. The epicentre was located 67 kilometres northeast of Quetta. Initial reports indicate no casualties or property damage.
Ziarat has a tragic history of seismic activity. The last major quake in 2008 claimed over 200 lives, left around 500 injured, and destroyed hundreds of homes and government buildings, displacing more than 15,000 residents. The small settlements of Ziarat were the worst-hit, with roughly 170 fatalities, most of them women and children. Aftershocks continued into the night, prompting thousands to flee their homes in fear.
Other districts, including Pishin, Bolan, Chaman, and Quetta, have also reported damage and casualties during previous seismic events. Pakistan has long faced the threat of earthquakes, from the 2005 northern quake that killed 73,000 people to the 1935 Quetta earthquake, which claimed around 30,000 lives.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province, lies along a seismic hotspot, where the Indian plate collides with the Eurasian plate, making the region prone to tremors. Its sparse population and remote terrain make rescue and relief operations challenging.
Just days earlier, on 3 November, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake near Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan killed at least seven people and injured around 150, months after a series of quakes and aftershocks in the region had claimed over 2,200 lives at the end of August.
