SEISMICITY OF PAKISTAN Earthquake History Largest Earthquake Seismic Hazard Significant Earthquakes CAPITAL - Islamabad POPULATION (Pakmitti.com) 130,580,000 (1998 Census)   MAJOR URBAN CENTRES Karachi pop. 9,269,265 Lahore pop. 5,129,214 Faisalabad pop. 2,280,360 Hyderabad pop. 1,447,957 Rawalpindi pop. 1,406,214 Islamabad pop. 799,000

EARTHQUAKE HISTORY
Earthquake activity in Pakistan is mainly concentrated in the north and western sections of the country, along the boundary of the Indian plate and the Iranian and Afghan micro-plates. The Chaman Fault runs along Pakistan's western frontier with Afghanistan from Kalat, in the northern Makran range, past Quetta and then on to Kabul, Afghanistan. A fault also runs along the Makran coast and is believed to be of the same nature as the West Coast fault along the coast of Maharashtra, India. An active subduction zone exists off the Makran coast. The great 1945 earthquake was centred in this region. This zone forms the boundary between the Arabian and the Iranian micro-plate, where the former subducts or dives beneath the latter. Thrust zones run along the Kirthar, Sulaiman and Salt ranges. There are four faults in and around Karachi and other parts of deltaic Indus, and Makran coast. The first is the Allah Bund fault that passes through Shahbundar, Jah, Pakistan Steel Mills, and runs through eastern parts of the city and ends near Cape Monz. This fault, in fact, has caused extensive damage in the past many centuries in the deltaic areas. The destruction of Bhanbhor in the 13th century and damage to Shahbundar in 1896 were caused by this fault. The other one emanates from the Rann of Kutchh. The third one is the Pubb fault which ends into Arabian sea near Makran coast and the last one is located in the lower Dadu district near Surajani and falls in the vicinity of Karachi. Tsunamis or tidal waves have also affected the coast of Pakistan. The worst case was in 1945 when an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 struck the Makran coast, waves as high as 12 meters were reported.

LARGEST EARTHQUAKE IN PAKISTAN
30 May 1935 - Quetta (Balochistan), Pakistan, Mw 8.1
19:00:46.9 UTC, 27.39N, 88.75E, 17 kms depth
Close to 30,000 people were killed and the city of Quetta was devastated. The main shock was most intense in a small region surrounding the epicentre, its intensity dying off rapidly as one moved away from it.

HAZARD ZONATION
According to a map created by the Pakistan Met. Department, the country is divided into 4 zones based on expected ground acceleration. The areas surrounding Quetta, along the Makran coast and parts of the NWFP, along the Afghan border fall in Zone 4. The rest of the NWFP lies in Zone 3, with the exception of southern parts of this province which lie in Zone 2. The remaining parts of the Pakistani coast till Karachi also lie in Zone 3. The remaining parts of the country lie in Zone 2. The major cities of Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Islamabad both sit in this zone. But despite this, they are regularly rattled by strong earthquakes from the north or from neighbouring Afghanistan. The upper westernmost part of Balochistan and regions along the border with India lie in Zone 1. This zone also includes Lahore where there was serious damage caused by the 1905 Kangra earthquake in neighbouring India.
According to the GSHAP, the most vulnerable parts of Pakistan are parts of Balochstan province in and around Quetta stretching to the Afghan border and western parts of Balochistan, which include the Makran coast till the Iranian border. These regions could expect to have a maximum peak ground acceleration (PGA) ranging between 0.24g to 0.4g. Parts of northern Punjab could expect a maximum PGA ranging between 0.24g to 0.32g. Similar values of PGA could be expected in northern sections of the North-West Frontier Province (N.W.F.P.) and around Karachi, in Sindh Province. Maximum PGA values for the rest of the country do not fall below 0.8g. These values steadily decrease towards the Indian border. The region with the lowest maximum PGA is a region between Khangarh and Fort Abbas, along the international border with India.

LARGE EARTHQUAKES IN PAKISTAN
893 - 894 A.D. - Debal (Lower Sindh), Pakistan, Mw 7.5 (TS)
Nearly 1,50,000 people were killed and several towns were destroyed in the region.
Details

2 May 1668 - Near Shahbunder (Lower Sindh), Pakistan, M 7.6 (TS)
24.00 N, 68.00 E

May 1688 - Near Shahbunder (Lower Sindh), Pakistan
24.00 N, 68.00 E

16 June 1819 - Allahbund, Indo-Pak Border region, Mw 7.5 (Bilham, '99)
23.60 N, 69.60 E
About 3200 people were killed and dozens of towns and villages were destroyed in Kutchh and adjoining parts of southern Pakistan. The earthquake resulted in great surface deformation including a 90-kilometres stretch of land uplifted about 4 metres, called the Allahbund. The shock was felt throughout the Sub-continent as far as Kolkata.
Details

26 September 1827 - Near Lahore (The Punjab), Pakistan
31.60 N, 74.30 E (31.00 N, 75.30 E)
At least 1000 people killed in Lahore and the neighbouring parts of Punjab province. Some discrepancies in the exact location of the epicentre. Very few earthquake catalogs list this event.

24 January 1852 - Near Kahan (Baluchistan), Pakistan
29.30 N, 68.80 E
250 - 350 people killed in the Kahan area, in the Muree Hills. Hundreds of heads of cattle also perished and buildings in the fort area were either badly damaged or destroyed.

1865 - Near Kahan (Baluchistan), Pakistan
Several buildings destroyed.

1883 - Jhalawan (Pakistan)

1889 - Jhalawan (Pakistan)

20 December 1892 - Near Chaman, Afghanistan-Pakistan border, Mw 6.8
This earthquake was triggered by a fault that caused surface displacement for nearly 200 kilometres off setting railway lines and other man-made objects. It was felt throughout Baluchistan (Pakistan) and was centred in the Khojak range.

20 October 1909 - Between Loralai and Sibi (Baluchistan), Pakistan, Mw 7.0
30.00 N, 68.00 E, 60 kms depth
Centred in the vicinity of Bagh and Shahpur. Maximum RF intensity of 9 was observed. Several villages completely destroyed and more than 100 killed.

1 February 1929 - Between Buner and Hazara (North West Frontier Province), Pakistan
17:14:?? UTC, 36.50 N, 70.50 E, 180-220 kms depth
Occurred just north of Abbotabad at around 10:45 pm local time. Reached a maximum RF intensity of 8.

25 August 1931 - Sharigh (Baluchistan), Pakistan, M 7.2 (PMD)
30.00 N, 67.00 E
This earthquake reached a maximum RF intensity of 8. It had a very shallow focal depth and destroyed most of the mud houses in the region.
Details

27 August 1931 - Mach (Baluchistan), Pakistan, Mw 7.0 (SSA)
29.80 N, 37.30 E
This was the second earthquake within a span of two days to hit the same region. It was much stronger than the earthquake on August 25th, but did not reach a maximum RF value of more than 8. It was felt in much of Baluchistan and Sindh. Several people were killed by falling masonry in Quetta.
Details

30 May 1935 - Quetta (Balochistan), Pakistan, Mw 8.1
19:00:46.9 UTC, 27.39N, 88.75E, 17 kms depth
Close to 30,000 people were killed and the city of Quetta was devastated. The main shock was most intense in a small region surrounding the epicentre, its intensity dying off rapidly as one moved away from it.
Details

21 November 1939 - Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan, Ms 6.9 (NOAA)
11:02:?? UTC, 36.30 N, 70.50 E, 220 kms depth
Felt throughout north-eastern Afghanistan and much of northern Pakistan and northern India. In the epicentral area the MM intensity reached VIII while in place such as Gilgit, Drosh and Srinagar, it was an intensity VII. It was felt in the North-West Frontier Province (N.W.F.P.), Pakistan. It was also felt in Jammu & Kashmir and northern parts of the Punjab, India.

27 November 1945 - Off the Makran coast (Baluchistan), Pakistan, Mw 7.9
21:56:?? UTC, 24.50 N, 63.00 E, 25 kms depth
At least 2000 people killed in southern Pakistan and neighbouring Iran. Tsunamis with heights of 12 meters struck the Makran coast. Widespread damage. Damage also occurred at Ormara. Tsunamis were recorded at Kutchh (India) and Mumbai, India, with wave heights of 6 meters and 2 meters respectively.
Details

5 August 1947 - Off the Makran coast (Baluchistan), Pakistan, Mw 7.2
14:24:?? UTC, 25.10 N, 63.40 E

28 December 1974 - NE of Malakhand, NWFP, (Indo-Pakistan Border region), 6.2Ms (NEIC)
12:11:43.70 UTC, 35.054N, 72.870E, 22kms depth
Reports on this earthquake are very sketchy and apart from the 5000 fatalities caused by this quake nothing else conclusive can be stated.

12th September 1981 - Gilgit Wazarat (Jammu & Kashmir), India, Mw6.1 (HRV), 6.2Mb (NEIC)
07:15:54.17 UTC, 35.693N, 73.594E, 33 kms depth
Atleast 220 people were killed, 2,500 were injured in the Gilgit region. There were also unconfirmed reports of surface faulting. The shock was felt in Srinagar (J&K, India) and in Peshawar and Rawalpindi (Pakistan).

30 December 1983 - Hindukush Mountains, Afghanistan, Mw 7.4 (GS)
23:52:39.9 UTC, 36.37 N, 70.74 E, 215 kms depth
12 killed and damage in the Kabul-Samangan area. 14 more deaths occurred in Peshawar, Pakistan. Damage also occurred in Tajikistan. The shock was felt in much of northwestern Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Khyrgyzstan, northern Pakistan and northern India.

29 July 1985 - Hindukush Mountains, Afghanistan, Mw 7.4 (GS)
07:54:44.0 UTC, 36.190 N, 70.896 E, 99 kms depth
5 killed in the districts of Chitral and Swat, Pakistan. Damage and landslides also occurred in Tajikistan. The shock was felt much of Afghanistan. It was also felt in parts of neighbouring Pakistan and Tajikistan. It was felt as far away as New Delhi, India and Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

31 January 1991 - Hindukush Mountains, Afghanistan, Mw 6.7 (NEIC)
23:03:33 UTC, 33.993 N, 70.432 E, 142 kms depth
200-400 killed in Konar, Nangarhar and Badakhshan provinces. 300 killed in the Malakhand-Chitral-Peshawar area of Pakistan. 3 died of heart attacks at Khorog, Tajikistan. The shock was felt much of Afghanistan. It was also felt in parts of neighbouring Pakistan and Tajikistan. It was felt as far away as New Delhi, India and Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

9 August 1993 - Hindukush Mountains, Afghanistan, Mw7.0 (NEIC, HRV)
12:42:48.1 UTC, 36.379N, 70.868E, 215kms depth
Felt strongly over a wide region of south and central Asia, from Dushanbe, Tajikistan to as far south as Multan, Pakistan.

27 February 1997 - Near Harnai (Baluchistan), Pakistan, Mw 7.3 (NEIC)
21:08:02.3 UTC, 29.976 N, 68.208 E, depth of 33 kms
One of the strongest earthquakes in Pakistan for several decades. At least 50 people were killed in the region in the cities of Quetta, Sibi and Harnai. Landslides blocked several roads and railway tracks in the region. Felt throughout central Baluchistan.

26 January 2001 - Near Bhachau (Gujarat), India, Mw 7.6
03:16:41 UTC, 23.399 N, 70.316 E, depth of 22 kms
At least 11,500 were killed in Gujarat. 20 killed in southern Pakistan. Many heavily populated areas in Kutchh and Saurashtra were affected. High-rise buildings collapsed in Ahmedabad and Surat. Damage occurred across Gujarat and even in the neighbouring states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Felt throughout the Indian Sub-continent as far as Bangladesh.
Details

1 November 2002 - Gilgit-Astore region (P.O.K.), Mb 5.5
22:09:29 UTC, 35.540 N, 74.640 E, 33 kms depth
Felt over a wide area of P.O.K. Landslides reported in the region and the Karakoram Highway was blocked. At least 1 person killed in a landslide.
Details

3 November 2002 - Gilgit-Astore region (P.O.K.), Mb 5.3
07:33:40 UTC, 35.500 N, 74.500 E, 33 kms depth
Felt over a wide area of P.O.K. Also felt at Islamabad and Peshawar, Pakistan and at Srinagar, India. Major landslides reported in the region and the Karakoram Highway was blocked. At least 17 person killed and 65 injured. 1,500 people left homeless.

20 November 2002 - Gilgit-Astore region (P.O.K.), Mw 6.3
21:32:31 UTC, 35.529 N, 74.531 E, 33 kms depth
23 killed in the Astore Valley and heavy damage in the area. Major landslides reported in the Astore and Gilgit areas. 15,000 people rendered homeless. Felt at Islamabad, Pakistan and at Srinagar, India.
Details