5.3-magnitude earthquake hits Balochistan: USGS

ISLAMABAD: A 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck Balochistan province on Monday, the US Geological Survey said, but local officials said there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The quake struck at a depth of 27 kilometres (17 miles), with its epicentre located 82 kilometres Khuzdar district, where people felt the shockwave.

Local meteorologists measured the quake at 5.5 magnitude with a depth of just 10 kilometres, and 70 kilometres from Khuzdar.

“The magnitude of the earthquake was recorded 5.5 and its depth was 10 kilometres,” Muhammad Shafique, a meteorologist at the met office, told AFP.

Administration officials said there were no immediate reports of any loss of life or property.

Pakistan straddles part of the boundary where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, making the country susceptible to earthquakes.

The country was hit by a 7.6-magnitude quake on October 8, 2005 that killed more than 73,000 people and left about 3.5 million homeless, mainly in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake had devastated several areas in Balochistan in September 2013, killing at least 370 people and leaving 100,000 homeless.