A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck Pakistan on Saturday, October 17, according to India's National Centre for Seismology, at 10:37 a.m. local time (05:06 UTC).
The U.S. Geological Survey placed the epicentre about 48 kilometres west-northwest of Khuzdar in Balochistan province, at a shallow depth of roughly 10 to 15 kilometres — the kind of depth that can increase shaking at the surface. The USGS issued a yellow PAGER alert, indicating some casualties and damage are possible.
There were no confirmed reports of damage or casualties in the first hours after the quake, and there is no tsunami risk because the epicentre is inland.
Pakistan sits on the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates, and Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan all lie near major fault lines that regularly produce damaging earthquakes.
