ISLAMABAD: A mild earthquake struck central Pakistan on Sunday morning, as the United States Geological Survey said that it was magnitude-5.3 tremor on Richter scale.
However, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported that the quake magnitude was 5.5.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the shallow quake, which the USGS reported had occurred around 3:30 am (2230 GMT), with the epicentre around 60 kilometres (37 miles) north-northeast of Barkhan, a city in Pakistan’s mountainous Balochistan province.
However, the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre reported that the epicentre was located 149 km (92.5 miles) west of the city of Multan. The GFZ stated the tremor was shallow, at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).
Meanwhile, tremors were also felt in Musakhel and nearby areas after a moderate earthquake struck the region.
According to the seismic monitoring centre, the quake had a magnitude of 5.5 and occurred at a depth of 28 kilometres. The epicentre was located about 56 kilometres northeast of Musakhel district in Balochistan.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. Authorities are monitoring the situation.
Pakistan lies along the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, making it prone to earthquakes.
The region can be difficult to reach during emergencies — in 2015, a 7.5-magnitude quake in Pakistan and Afghanistan killed nearly 400 people across rugged terrain that hindered relief efforts.
The country also experienced a devastating 7.6-magnitude earthquake in 2005 that killed more than 73,000 people and left about 3.5 million homeless, mainly in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
Balochistan province, Pakistan’s largest, was struck by a quake in 2021 that killed at least 20 people and injured more than 10 others, with landslides slowing early rescue operations in the remote mountainous district of Harnai.
