Earthquake in Balochistan, no loss of life reported so far

QUETTA/CHAMAN: Earthquake tremors jolted different parts of Balochistan including Pakistan-Iran border early morning on Tuesday, said the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).

The first earthquake, which was of 5.4 magnitude, struck several cities including Noshki, Chaman, Qilla Abdullah, Pishin, Dalbandin, Chagai District and Quetta Valley and its surroundings.

The earthquake occurred at 5:35am, the seismic centre said, adding that the epicentre of the quake was 150 kilometres southwest of Quetta, and its depth was 35km.

According to PMD, the earthquake had a latitude of 29.76N and a longitude of 65.36E.

Meanwhile, another earthquake of magnitude 4.5 struck Balochistan and the epicentre of the quake was 120 kilometres southwest of Quetta.

The second quake occurred at 6:24am. 

Natural disasters such as earthquakes are not uncommon in Pakistan, as the country is situated on the boundary of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

Large parts of South Asia are seismically active because a tectonic plate known as the Indian plate is pushing north into the Eurasian plate.

Recent earthquakes underscore the importance of disaster preparedness and mitigation measures.