New Delhi, June 28: A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Pakistan’s Barkhan District in Balochistan Province on Friday morning, following a series of moderate seismic events in the same region over the past two days, according to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS), Ministry of Earth Sciences.
According to the NCS preliminary report, the earthquake occurred at 8:36:23 am IST on June 27, with its epicentre located at 30.271° N, 69.733° E at a focal depth of 40 kilometres.
The epicentre was located approximately 428 km northwest of Bikaner, 500 km west of Bathinda, 512 km west-southwest of Amritsar, 491 km southwest of Islamabad, and 478 km south of Kabul.
The report said the earthquake was preceded by a magnitude 5.2 tremor that struck nearly the same location on June 26 at 5:18:49 pm IST. Before that event, two foreshocks of magnitude greater than 4.0 were also recorded in the vicinity, indicating an ongoing sequence of moderate seismic activity culminating in Friday’s magnitude 5.5 earthquake.
Tectonic Activity Along Major Fault Systems
According to the NCS, the earthquake is linked to tectonic activity associated with the Hernai Fault, Karahai Fault, and the Salt Range Thrust in the Suleiman Range, one of the most seismically active regions in the area.
The report noted that the region lies along the tectonic boundary where the Indian Plate is thrusting beneath the Eurasian Plate, resulting in frequent seismic activity.
Historical seismic records also indicate repeated earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 and above in and around the epicentral region over the past decade.
Preliminary fault plane analysis suggests that the latest earthquake was predominantly caused by thrust faulting, indicating the release of compressional tectonic stress.
The maximum shaking intensity near the epicentre was assessed at Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) VII, according to the report.
Ground Motion Recorded in India
The National Centre for Seismology said peak ground acceleration (PGA) was recorded at several seismic stations in India following the earthquake.
Among the recorded observations:
- Bikaner: 0.002g
- Chandigarh: 0.0018g
- Jhajjar: 0.00063g
- Jammu: 0.00011g
- Ajmer: 0.00011g
- Jaisalmer: 0.000073g
The preliminary report was issued by the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. Further scientific analysis is expected as more seismic data becomes available.
