5.6-magnitude earthquake hits several parts of Balochistan

An earthquake struck several parts of the Makran Division of Balochistan on Sunday evening.

Tremors were felt in the Gwadar, Pasni, Ormara, and Kech areas of the province.

According to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre, the magnitude of the quake was recorded at 5.6 on the Richter scale. Meanwhile, it measured a depth of 30 kilometres, and its epicentre was Pasni near Gwadar.

While no casualties or damage to property were immediately reported, it is worth noting that several areas of Balochistan are already grappling with monsoon floods that have caused considerable destruction in the province.

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So far, more than 124 people have lost their lives, more than 6,000 houses have been completely torn down, and over 10,000 houses are partially damaged because of the rains.

While Balochistan Chief Sec­retary Abdul Aziz Aqi­li said that flash floods triggered by the torrential rains claimed several more lives during the last 24 hours, raising the death toll to 111.

“The provincial gov­ernment is facing a huge challenge to cope with the situation arising af­ter the heavy down­pour and flash floods,” he said during a press briefing here at Jama­li Auditorium of Civ­il Secretariat. Chairman NHA Khuram Agha and DG PDMA Naseer Nasar were also present.

Sharing details about the damages caused by rain and relief opera­tion in the calamity-hit areas, he said that10 districts of the province were worst affected by the monsoon rains as, during the recent mon­soon spell, it rained 500 percent more than it was recorded during the last 30 years.