List of earthquakes in Pakistan

Earthquakes in Pakistan
Earthquake zones of Pakistan.
(<6.0 in green, 6.0–6.9 in blue, 7.0–7.9 in orange, 8.0+ in red)
Largest8.1 Mw 1945 Balochistan earthquake
Deadliest7.6 Mw 2005 Kashmir earthquake

Pakistan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, being crossed by several major faults. As a result, earthquakes in Pakistan occur often and are destructive.

Geology[edit]

Pakistan geologically overlaps both the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. Balochistan, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan provinces lie on the southern edge of the Eurasian Plate on the Iranian Plateau. Sindh, Punjab and Azad Jammu & Kashmir provinces lie on the north-western edge of the Indian plate in South Asia. Hence this region is prone to violent earthquakes, as the two tectonic plates collide.

Earthquakes[edit]

Date Locality, district, or province Mag. MMI Deaths Injuries Notes
2023-03-21 Badakhshan, Afghanistan 6.5 Mw V 20 302 Severe damage, ten killed in Afghanistan. Damage to buildings also in India and Tajikistan -
2022-06-24 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 4.2 Mw VII Five killed in Afghanistan [1][2]
2022-06-21 Pakistan-Afghanistan Border, Khost Province, Afghanistan 6.0 Mw VIII 13 27 Heavy damage. Over 1,100 killed in Afghanistan. [3]
2022-05-06 Khuzdar, Balochistan 5.2 Mw VI 1 Moderate damage [4]
2022-03-16 Gilgit-Baltistan 5.1 Mw VII 1 9 Minor damage [5]
2021-12-27 Gilgit-Baltistan 5.2 Mw V 9 Severe damage [6]
2021-10-07 Harnai, Balochistan 5.9 Mw VII 42 300 Severe damage [7]
2019-10-06 New Mirpur, Azad Kashmir 3.6 Mw IV 1 10 Casualties due to a house collapse [8][9]
2019-09-24 New Mirpur, Azad Kashmir 5.6 Mw VII 40 852 Severe [10]
2018-01-31 Lasbela, Balochistan 4.7 Mw V 1 9 [11][12]
2018-01-30 Badakhshan 6.1 Mw 1 9-11
2015-12-25 Gilgit-Baltistan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
6.3 Mw V 4 100
2015-10-26 Badakhshan 7.5 Mw VII 399 2,536
2015-07-24 Islamabad 5.1 Mw V 3
2014-05-08 Sindh 4.5 Mw 2 50
2013-09-28 Awaran District, Balochistan 6.8 Mw VII 22 Aftershock.
2013-09-24 Awaran District, Balochistan 7.7 Mw IX 825 700
2013-04-16 Balochistan 7.7 Mw VIII 34 105
2011-01-18 Dalbandin, Balochistan 7.2 Mw VII 3 some
2010-10-10 Haripur, Northwest Frontier Province 5.2 Mw V 1 15 Moderate damage [13]
2008-10-29 Ziarat District, Balochistan 6.4 Mw 215 200
2005-10-08 Azad Kashmir, Balakot 7.6 Mw XI 86,000–87,351 69,000–75,266 Extreme damage in Azad Kashmir, Balakot town almost completely destroyed and Muzaffarabad suffering heaviest number of casualties. Deadliest earthquake in South Asia, epicentre centred on the Jhelum Fault Zone.
2004-02-14 Battagram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 5.5 Mw VIII 24 63
2002-11-02 Battagram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 5.4 Mw 6.3 Mw VIII 41 168 Doublet
1997-02-27 Balochistan 7.0 Mw VIII 57
1992-05-20 Kohat Division, North West Frontier 6.0 Mw VII 36 100 Moderate [14][15]
1983-12-31 Gilgit-Baltistan 7.2 Mw VII 12–26 60–483 Severe [16]
1981-12-09 Gilgit-Baltistan 5.9 Mw 220 [17]
1974-12-28 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 6.2 Mw 5,300 17,000
1972-09-03 Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 6.2 Mw VIII 100 [18]
1945-11-28 Makran Coast, British Baluchistan 8.1 Mw X 4000 Tsunami
1935-05-31 Ali Jaan, Balochistan 7.7 X 30,000–60,000
1931-08-27 Mach, Balochistan 7.4 [19]
1931-08-24 Sharigh Valley, Balochistan 7 [19]
1909-10-21 Sibi, Balochistan 7 100 [19]
1892-12-20 Qilla Abdullah, Balochistan 6.8 Chaman Fault [20]
1885-05-30 Srinagar, Kashmir 6.3–6.8 VIII 3,000
1865-01-22 Peshawar 6 [20]
1852-01-24 Kahan, Balochistan 8 [21]
1827-09-24 Lahore, Punjab 7.8 1,000 [21]
1819-06-16 Allahbund, Sindh 7.7–8.2 Mw XI >1,543 Tsunami
1668-05-02 Shahbandar, Sindh 7.6 50,000 [22]
1555-09-?? Kashmir 7.6–8.0 Mw 600–60,000
The inclusion criteria for adding events are based on WikiProject Earthquakes' notability guideline that was developed for stand alone articles. The principles described are also applicable to lists. In summary, only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "M 4.3 - 49 km W of Miran Shah, Pakistan". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Afghanistan hit with aftershock, adding to significant earthquake death toll". CBC News. Associated Press. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  3. ^ Hussain, Sajjad (23 June 2022). "Afghanistan earthquake kills 30 Pakistani tribal people". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  4. ^ "M 5.2 - 79 km N of Bela, Pakistan". United States Geological Survey. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  5. ^ "M 5.1 - 68 km NW of Skardu, Pakistan". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  6. ^ "M 5.2 - 60 km SE of Gilgit, Pakistan". United States Geological Survey.
  7. ^ "M 4.6 - 9 km ESE of Harnai, Pakistan". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  8. ^ "M 3.6 - 4 km SW of Jhelum, Pakistan". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Earthquake tremors felt again in POK, one dead, 10 injured". newstracklive. 6 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  10. ^ "M 5.6 - 3km S of New Mirpur, Pakistan". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  11. ^ "M 4.7 - 11 km NW of Bela, Pakistan". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  12. ^ "Tote nach Erdbeben im Süden von Pakistan" (in German). 31 January 2018.
  13. ^ "M 5.2 - 14 km SSW of Haripur, Pakistan". United States Geological Survey. 10 October 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  14. ^ NGDC 1972
  15. ^ Satyabala, S. P.; Yang, Zhaohui; Bilham, R. (2012), "Stick–slip advance of the Kohat Plateau in Pakistan", Nature Geoscience, 5 (2), Nature Publishing Group: 147–150, Bibcode:2012NatGe...5..147S, doi:10.1038/ngeo1373, S2CID 92989973
  16. ^ NGDC 1972
  17. ^ "Earthquakes in Pakistan since 1950". Worlddata.info. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  18. ^ "Earthquakes in Pakistan since 1950". Worlddata.info. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  19. ^ a b c Quittmeyer & Jacob 1979, p. 792
  20. ^ a b Quittmeyer & Jacob 1979, p. 807
  21. ^ a b Quittmeyer & Jacob 1979, p. 806
  22. ^ Quittmeyer & Jacob 1979, p. 805

Sources

Further reading[edit]

  • Kazmi, Ali Hamza (2006), "Active Faults and Earthquake Hazard in Pakistan", Pakistan Horizon, 59 (4): 13–20, JSTOR 43615504

External links[edit]