2008 Ziarat earthquakes
 | This earthquake documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this earthquake may not reflect the most current information. (October 2008) |
 | |
| UTC time | ?? |
|---|---|
| Magnitude | 6.4 Mw |
| Depth | 10 km (6.2 mi)[1] |
| Epicenter | Balochistan province, near Quetta |
| Areas affected |  Pakistan |
| Casualties | 215[2] |
The 2008 Pakistan earthquake was a magnitude Mw 6.4 earthquake that hit the Pakistani province of Balochistan on October 29, 2008. The US Geological Survey reported that the quake occurred 60 km (37 mi) north of Quetta and 185 km (115 mi) southeast of the Afghanistan city of Kandahar at 04:09 local time (28 October, 23:09 UTC) at a depth of 15 km (9.3 mi), at 30.653°N, 67.323°E.[3] It was followed by another shallower magnitude 6.4 earthquake at a depth of 10 km (6.2 mi) approximately 12 hours after the initial shock, at 30.546°N, 67.447°E.[4] 215 people were confirmed dead, but the death toll may rise to 400 as more bodies are removed from the rubble (according to Faisal Edhi of the Edhi Foundation).Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).[1][5] and 120,000 were homeless (according to Dilawar Khan Kakar, Ziarat, Balochistan mayor and chief administrator).[6][7] The New York Times reported that Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, director general of Pakistan Meteorological Department, stated the quake epicenter was 70 miles north of Quetta,[8] and about 600 km (370 mi) southwest of Islamabad.[9] Quetta, Baluchistan's capital, was leveled in 1935 by a magnitude Mw 7.6 earthquake which left 30,000 people dead, according to the US Geological Survey.[10][11]
Tectonic summary
Earthquakes and active faults in western and northern Pakistan and adjacent parts of Afghanistan are the result of the India plate moving northward at a rate of about 40 mm/yr (1.6 inches/yr) and colliding with the Eurasia plate. Along the northern edge of the Indian subcontinent, the India plate is subducting beneath the Eurasia plate, causing uplift that produces the highest mountain peaks in the world, including the Himalayan, the Karakoram, the Pamir and the Hindu Kush ranges. West and south of the Himalayan front, the relative motion between the two plates is oblique, which results in strike-slip, reverse-slip, and oblique-slip earthquakes. The pattern of elastic waves that were radiated by the October 28 and 29, 2008, earthquakes implies that each earthquake was the result of predominantly strike-slip faulting. Seismographically recorded waveforms imply that the shocks were caused by either left-lateral slip on a northeast-striking fault or right-lateral slip on a northwest-striking fault. The tectonic setting favors left-lateral slip on a northeast-trending fault as the likely fault plane.
The October 28 and 29 earthquakes occurred in the Sulaiman fold-and-thrust belt, a region where geologically young (Tertiary) sedimentary rocks have been folded and squeezed by forces associated with the India-Eurasia collision. The earthquakes are located approximately 80 km east of the 650-km-long Chaman fault, which is a major left-lateral strike-slip fault that accommodates a significant amount of the slip across the plate boundary. The occurrence of the earthquakes suggests that other left-lateral strike-slip faults are present beneath the fold-and-thrust belt and that they accommodate some of the relative motion of the India and Eurasia plates.
The earthquakes of October 28 and 29, 2008, are located approximately 50 km northeast of the region of most intense damage from the Pakistan earthquake of May 30, 1935 (M 7.6), which is estimated to have killed 30,000 people. The 1935 earthquake probably occurred as the result of left-lateral strike-slip motion on a northeast-striking fault.[12]
Details
Most of the casualties were from two villages on the outskirts of Ziarat town. Balochistan chief minister Nawab Aslam Khan Raisani ordered declaration of emergency in the hospitals of the affected areas. These areas, situated on steep terrain, were badly damaged by landslides caused by the quake.[1] Hundreds of mud houses were destroyed.
"Rescue work is being carried out by the villagers themselves, but a larger operation is needed here."
The tremors were felt in Quetta, Ziarat, Pishin, Qila Abdullah, Mastung, Sibi, Bolan, Kuchlak and Loralai areas.[13][14]
Response
Dilawar Khan, mayor of the Ziarat district, stated that his office had requested support from the local government.[5] Pakistani military helicopters and troops were dispatched to assess damage and aid victims.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "At least 100 dead in Pakistan quake: police". AFP. 2008-10-29.
- ^ "Pakistan quake death toll rises to 215". AFP via The Standard. 2008-10-30. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
- ^ "Magnitude 6.4 - PAKISTAN". USGS. October 28, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
- ^ "Magnitude 6.4 - PAKISTAN". USGS. October 29, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
- ^ a b "Scores dead after Pakistan quake". BBC. 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
- ^ "Pakistan Earthquake Near Afghanistan Border, Number Of Dead Rising". Sky News. 2008-10-09. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
- ^ "Pakistan quake rescuers recover 160 bodies". Reuters.com. 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
- ^ Salman Masood (2008-10-29). "Quake in Pakistan Kills at Least 215". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
- ^ Sattar Kakar (2008-10-29). "Pakistani quake leaves 135 dead, 15,000 homeless". The Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
- ^ "Pakistan Rushes Aid to Quake Zone; 20,000 Homeless". Bloomberg.com. 2008-10-30. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
- ^ Isambard Wilkinson (2008-10-30). "Pakistan earthquake: Thousands displaced as death toll rises". Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
- ^ "Magnitude 6.4 - PAKISTAN". usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
- ^ a b "135 killed as earthquake hits southwest Pakistan". The Times of India. 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
- ^ "Police: At least 70 killed in Pakistan quake". CNN. 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2008-10-29.