Balochistan Earthquake 2013

Table of Contents:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Summary
Cause of Earthquake
Seismic details
Area affected
Hazard losses
5.1. Peoples effected
5.2. Health Facilities destroyed
5.3. Educational Instituted Damaged
6. References

Table of Figures:
Figure 1: Areas affected due to earthquake.
Figure 2: Villages affected at union council level.
Figure 3: Map of earthquake range by United Nations.
Figure 4: Demolished BHU at Awaran District.
Figure 5: Demolished school building at Awaran District.
Figure 6: Infrastructure status map after the earthquake.
Figure 7: Estimated affected population and Nutrition beneficiaries.
Figure 8: Houses affected at Awaran and Kech District.
Figure 9: Status of health facilities after earthquake.
Figure 10: Children not going school after earthquake.
Figure 11: Status of educational facilities after earthquake.

Real life event assignment on:

Balochistan Earthquake 2013

(Environmental Geology)

1. Summary:
This natural hazard occurred at the afternoon of the September 24, 2013, when everyone in
Pakistan felt the shaking of the ground by tremendous earthquake that struck the Awaran District
in the western Balochistan Province of Pakistan. The earthquake's epicenter was near the Awaran
District, but others districts of Balochistan Turbat, Panjgur, Chaghai, Khuzdar and Gwadar
were also affected. According to the reports, tremors from the earthquake, which registered to be
of 7.7-7.8 magnitude on the Richter scale, These ground shakes were also felt in Quetta, Hub,
Kharan, Jhal Magsi, Qalat, Sibi, Mastung, Jafferabad and Karachi Pakistan and as far away as
UAE.

2. Cause of Earthquake:
This earthquake in south-central Pakistan occurred as the result of oblique-strike-slip type
motion at shallow crustal depths. The location and mechanism of the earthquake are consistent
with rupture within the Eurasia plate above the Makran subduction zone. The event occurred
within the transition zone between northward subduction of the Arabia plate beneath the Eurasia
plate and northward collision of the India plate with the Eurasia plate. The epicenter of the event
is 69km north of Awaran, Pakistan, and 270km north of Karachi, Pakistan (population 11.6
million). On a broad scale, the tectonics of southern and central Pakistan reflect a complex plate
boundary where the India plate slides northward relative to the Eurasia plate in the east, and the
Arabia plate subducts northward beneath the Eurasia plate in the Makran (western Pakistan).
These motions typically result in north-south to northeast-southwest strike-slip motion at the
latitude of the September 24 earthquake that is primarily accommodated on the Chaman Fault,
with the earthquake potentially occurring on one of the southern-most strands of this fault
system.

3. Seismic details:
The United States Geological Survey reported that the earthquake took place on Tuesday 24
September 2013 at 11:29:48 UTC at 26.971N 65.520E. The depth of the earthquake was
reported to be 15 kilometers (9.3 mi). Pakistan's National Seismic Monitoring Centre reported
the Mw 7.7 quake occurred at 16:29:49 PKT(UTC+5:00) at 27.09N 65.61E at a depth of 10
kilometers (6.2 mi). The earthquake reportedly lasted about a minute, causing panic in cities of
southern Pakistan such as Karachi and Hyderabad.
The earthquake was felt in major cities across Pakistan, including Karachi, Hyderabad,
Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Larkana, and Lahore. The quake was also felt in Delhi, India, where
some buildings shook, and Muscat, Oman800 kilometers (500 mi) from the epicenterwhere

mild tremors shook tables and cabinets. The earthquake shook in the parts of UAE, Iraq,
Afghanistan, Iran and as far as Qatar. The earthquake also shook Saravan, Iran without causing
any damage or casualties. There were also minor tremors and aftershocks in the United Arab
Emirates.

4. Area effected:
Although the vibrations of this earthquake shocked earth as far as Qatar and Delhi, the actual
effected area where causalities and infrastructure damage has occurred lies in Balochistan
province. In Balochistan, two districts known as Awaran and Kech were severely damaged
affecting their 300,000 population. These two districts are further divided into 3 tehsils having 8
union councils. Several villages were wiped out in result of this earthquake. Below is the table
showing the division of earthquake effected areas:

Figure: 1
Figure: 2
3

4
Figure

5. Hazard Losses:
The area of Awaran and Kech district is already a remote area of Balochistan. The distance to
nearby cities is at least 200km and there is no road network available for transport. This situation
elevated number of deaths and injuries as there no hospitals or rescue teams in the area. Careful
estimates tell that at least 825 deaths and more than thousand injuries recorded in the area.
Nearly 20,000 houses were affected and Infrastructure of community buildings like schools and
hospitals were completely destroyed in the area. Shelter was not available for the injured or
suffering people. Nearby DHQ hospital of Awaran had no such space to treat the injured people
and medical facilities were seriously lacking in the area. Food and Drinking water were also
lacking in the areas, as all the food storage. After few day of the incident when everybody was
busy in the rescue operations and remains of the incident were still there; 2nd earthquake of 6.8m
hit the District Awaran on 28th September. In this earthquake 28 immediate deaths were reported
at Tehsil Mashkay of District Awaran. UC Nokjo that was partially affected in the previous
earthquake was severally affected as per reports.
Figure: 4
4
Figure: 5
5

Figure: 6

5.1

Peoples effected:

It is estimated that a total of 185,000 people were effected and Awaran and Kech district of
Balochistan. Almost 65% of houses of the area were destroyed and around 234 families left their
villages. The following tables further elaborate this calamity:
Figure: 7
Figure: 8

5.2 Health facilities destroyed:

This region is already remote in terms of health and education sector. The earthquake didnt
show the mercy and destroyed almost whole health infrastructure. Below is the table showing
total health facilities in area of Awaran and number of fully destroyed/damaged facilities:

Figure: 9
7

5.3 Educational institutes destroyed:

The earthquake affected the educational sector as much as it affected any other infrastructure in
this area. Nearly 170 schools were damaged or destroyed making it impossible for about 15,835
children to carry on their basic studies. Following tables provide facts and figures regarding
damage to education sector:
Figure: 10
Figure: 11

6. References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Pakistan_earthquake

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/poster/2013/20130924.php
http://www.livescience.com/39958-what-caused-pakistan-earthquake-island.html
http://earthquake-report.com/2013/09/24/massive-earthquake-pakistan-on-september-242013/
http://pakresponse.info/BalochistanEarthquake2013.aspx
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Earthquake%20Report
%202013%20Update.pdf
http://pakresponse.info/Portals/0/Emergencies/Eq%202013/Balochistan%20Earthquake
%202013%20Report%2023%20Oct_Final.pdf

The End