October ends on a terrifying note for south Asia, as the 7.5 magnitude earthquake took more than 400 lives and made many homeless.
The quake that came on October 26 had an epicentre of 15 km centred in the Hindukush mountain ranges of Afghanistan. These mountain ranges have been home to many previous quakes in this region. This upheaval majorly affected Afghanistan’s and Pakistan’s northern areas and sent shock waves as far as New Delhi.
The tremor, which lasted almost a minute, shook buildings, induced landslides and forced people to the streets. Pakistan seems to be as unready as ever to deal with any natural calamity, be it predictable or not.
Another factor, Pakistan’s geographic location, makes it prone to earth quakes. Pakistan overlaps on both plates, the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. The northern areas and the Azad Kashmir are mostly prone to violent earthquakes as they lie in central Asia along the edge of the Indian plate where the two plates collide.
Following is the list of major earthquakes in Pakistan dating back to 1971.
24 September 2013
A colossal earthquake of 7.7 magnitude hit Balochistan at the depth of 20 km north-east of Awaran, killing over 800 people, injuring hundreds and flattening more than 30 villages that contained about 20,000 homes.
Balochistan’s government dispatched 1000 tents, 500 food bags, medicines, 15 ambulances towards Awaran and Jan Buledi. PDMA too sent 13 trucks with relief goods, including 500 packets of food and 700 tents, to Awaran.
16 April 2013
The epicentre of the quake, which struck Quetta, was about 80km north of the city of Saravan in Iran, which lies close to Pak-Iran border, measuring 7.9 in magnitude. The tremors were felt in different parts of Pakistan, Iran, India and some Gulf countries. About 34 people were reported killed while 80 were injured with some 10,000 houses damaged.
4 April 2013
An earthquake measuring 5.4 in magnitude struck the northern areas of Pakistan including FATA. No losses were reported.
17 Feb 2013
A 5.5 magnitude earthquake struck the northern areas of Pakistan, including FATA. The areas where the jolts were felt included Nowshera, Peshawar, Malakand, Shangla, various areas of Gilgit and Baltistan, Lower Dir and Khyber tribal regions. No reports of fatalities were received.
29 Dec 2012
A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Hindukush region of Afghanistan and tremors were felt in parts of Pakistan. There were no reports of damage or causalities.
18 July 2012
A moderate earthquake measuring 5.7 in magnitude jolted several parts of the country. Its epicentre was in Koh Hindukush, according to the met office. The quake lasted a few seconds, but no casualties were reported.
12 July 2012
An earthquake measuring 6.1 in magnitude affected the northern areas of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, KP and Punjab. The epicentre was calculated as being 194km deep under the Hindukush range, while no losses were reported.
25 May 2012
An earthquake of mild intensity hit Quetta and adjoining areas. No casualties were reported.
12 May 2012
A medium in magnitude earthquake shook parts of Sorab in Quetta. No casualties were reported.
19 January 2012
A medium earthquake measuring 4.5 in magnitude lasted for 30 seconds, and affected the areas of Quetta, Ziarat, Khanozai, Pishin, Harnai, Qila Abdullah and Toba Achakzai. The epicentre of the earthquake lay 90km from Quetta in Achakzai area of Ziarat District. No casualties were reported.
15 May 2011
Mild shocks of earthquake jolted various parts of Khaber Pakhtunkwa and the federal capital. The magnitude of the quake was 4.7 and its epicentre was 41km deep and 64km north-west of Mansehra. No lives were lost.
3 April 2011
Two simultaneous quakes shook Karachi in seven hours – the first measured 2.8 while the second measured 4.7 in magnitude. No casualties were reported as a result of the quakes.
22 Jan 2011
Moderate tremors shook Islamabad and northern areas of Pakistan. The epicentre lay 188km north of Islamabad in Faizabad district.
20 Jan 2011
Another earthquake measuring 7.4 in magnitude shook Quetta with an epicentre located 1.5km northwest of Kharan district in Balochistan. Over 200 houses were damaged.
18 Jan 2011
An earthquake measuring 7.2 in magnitude hit areas in south-west Pakistan, killing several people and damaging 200 buildings in Balochistan. The epicentre of the quake lay 50km west of Dalbandin.
28 October 2010
Earthquake shocks were felt in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Azad Kashmir and Islamabad. The earthquake measured 5.3.
18 January 2010
An earthquake measuring 7.4 hit Karachi and lasted for about a minute. The quake, whose epicentre lay 55km west of Dalbandin, did not result in any casualties.
28 October 2008
An earthquake measuring 6.4 in magnitude hit Quetta and the surrounding areas, killing a total of 160 people and injuring 370 others in Balochistan. Several houses were also destroyed as a result of the quake. The epicentre of the quake lay 60km northeast of Quetta.
8 October 2005
The deadliest earthquake in recent times, measuring 7.6, struck Kashmir and Pakistan’s northern areas. The earthquake resulted in more than 80,000 fatalities, 200,000 people injured and more than four million people were left homeless. The main quake was followed by more than 978 aftershocks until October 27. The quake is blamed for the economic downfall of the country as the reconstruction of affected areas continues to this day.
14 February 2004
Two earthquakes – measuring 5.7 and 5.5 respectively – killed 24 people and injured 40 others in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (then NWFP) and the northern areas.
3 October 2002
17 people were killed, and 30 injured, while about 1,500 people were rendered homeless as earthquakes measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale hit the northern areas of Pakistan. Tremors lasted about 37 seconds, and caused extensive damage in the region. Nineteen days later, another earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale hit Astore Valley, killing 23 people. Aftershocks and subsequent landslides hampered relief operations in the northern areas.
Pakistan’s earthquakes by magnitude to date
26 January 2001
15 people were killed and another 108 injured when an earthquake measuring 6.5 hit the entire Sindh province at about 8.20am. Tremors were felt throughout the province, from Karachi to Kashmore.
20 March 1997
An earthquake measuring 4.5 hit the Salarzai village in the Bajaur tribal region, killing 10 people.
28 February 1997
An earthquake measuring 7.2 hit areas across Pakistan, and lasted for 30–90 seconds. The areas affected by the quake were Bolan, Jhal Magsi, Usta Mohammad, Sibi, Bugti and Marri tribal regions, as well as Mithri, whole of the Koh-i-Suleiman range, Chaman, Qila Abdullah, Qila Saifullah, Pishin, Ziarat, Mastung, Kalat, Sorab, Khuzdar in Balochistan.
Tremors were also felt in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan, Shujabad, leiah, Vehari, Sukkur, Rohri, Ghotki, Daharki, Ubaro, Liaquatpur, Jacobabad, Kandhkot, Dadu, Larkana, Warah, Shahdadkot and Kambar in Punjab and Sindh. Over 100 people were killed in the earthquake.
31 May 1995
A moderate earthquake measuring 5.2 hit the areas of Mastung, Mongechar, Dera Murad Jamali, Chatar tehsil of Naseerabad Division in the foothills of Bugti mountains. The epicentre of the quake lay between Shahpur desert and Dera Bugti about 200 km southeast of Quetta. It destroyed a dozen houses and left five people injured, including three children.
16 January 1978
An earthquake of moderate intensity hit Peshawar. The epicentre of the quake laid 300km north of Peshawar in the Hindukush range. No lives were lost in the quake.
20 September 1975
Quetta was hit by a severe earthquake but no lives were reportedly lost. The epicentre of the quake laid 7500km northwest of Quetta.
27 January 1975
An earthquake of moderate intensity hit Murri Bagti with an epicentre which lay 140 miles south of Quetta in Suleman Range. No lives were lost.
28 December 1974
One of the worst earthquakes hit Pakistan in the area of Pattan measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale; the quake had a shallow depth and was followed by various aftershocks. Areas affected were Hazara, Hunza, Swat and KP; the quake resulted in 5,300 dead, 17,000 injured, with 4400 houses destroyed.
30 June 1974
An earthquake of severe intensity hit the northern areas of Pakistan (Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Multan, etc) and lasted for about 30 seconds. The epicentre of the earthquake was said to lie in the Hindukush Mountains in Afghanistan. About four children were killed as a result, with damage to buildings.
18 May 1974
Tremors of moderate intensity hit Abbotabad. No loss of life was reported.
13 May 1973
Mild intensity tremors were felt In Rawalpindi and Islamabad. No loss of life or property was reported.
6 May 1972
Severe intensity tremors were felt in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Abbotabad and adjoining areas, which lasted for several seconds. Though people fled the buildings in fear, no losses were reported.
1 January 1972
An earthquake of mild intensity hit Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Abbotabad, Lahore and adjoining areas for about 18 seconds. No loss of life or property was reported after. However, the same day saw a moderate earthquake shake Sialkot, which lasted for about 50 seconds, causing cracks in buildings. No lives were lost.
28 December 1971
An earthquake of severe intensity was reported in Peshawar and Rawalpindi. However, no loss of lives or property was reported.
2 October 1971
Abbotabad and some parts of Hazara were recipient of five moderate tremors. No loss of life was reported.
1 October 1971
Tremors of moderate intensity were felt in Rawalpindi which lasted about 15 seconds. The epicentre of the tremors lay in Tarbela district. No loss of life was reported.
10 September 1971
A powerful earthquake hit the region of Gilgit, killing over 100 people and destroying more than 1,000 houses.
4 September 1971
Abbotabad was jolted six times by moderate tremors, which caused cracks in the buildings. No loss of life was reported. The epicentre of the quake lay 500 miles north-east of Quetta near Swat.
3 September 1971
About seven tremors of moderate intensity were felt at intervals of 20 seconds for a total of two minutes in Rawalpindi. No casualties were reported.
–Data from web sources. Compiled by Annum Lodhi