The 1997 Harnai earthquake occurred on February 27 at 21:08 UTC near
Harnai
Harnai ( ps, هرنای, ur, ) is the capital of Harnai District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It was previously in Sibi District. It is located in the northeast of Balochistan province. The town is surrounded by the cities Ziarat ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
, and felt throughout much of central
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
, with a magnitude estimated at 7.0 on the scale. A 2016 study determined that this was a
doublet earthquake
__NOTOC__
In seismology, doublet earthquakes – and more generally, multiplet earthquakes – were originally identified as multiple earthquakes with nearly identical waveforms originating from the same location. They are now characterized as sin ...
, the 6.8 shock that hit 19 seconds later being a continuation of the initial main shock. The largest aftershock was an 6.4 shock that hit 22 minutes after the main shock. The earthquake was caused by the collision between the
Indian Plate
The Indian Plate (or India Plate) is a minor tectonic plate straddling the equator in the Eastern Hemisphere. Originally a part of the ancient continent of Gondwana, the Indian Plate broke away from the other fragments of Gondwana , began ...
and the
Eurasian Plate
The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate that includes most of the continent of Eurasia (a landmass consisting of the traditional continents of Europe and Asia), with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent and ...
.
The mountainous villages near
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of ...
, the capital of Balochistan province, suffered most of the damage. Small villages in
Sibi District
Sibi (Urdu and bal, ) ( Sindhi: سيوي) is a district in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.[Harnai
Harnai ( ps, هرنای, ur, ) is the capital of Harnai District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It was previously in Sibi District. It is located in the northeast of Balochistan province. The town is surrounded by the cities Ziarat ...](_blank)
alone had 75 fatalities. The total number of deaths due to the earthquakes was over 100.
See also
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List of earthquakes in 1997
This is a list of earthquakes in 1997. Only earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above are included, unless they result in damage or casualties, or are notable for some other reason. All dates are listed according to UTC time. Maximum intensities are ind ...
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List of earthquakes in Pakistan
Pakistan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, being crossed by several major faults. As a result, earthquakes in Pakistan occur often and are destructive.
Geology
Pakistan geologically overlaps both the Eurasian and I ...
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2008 Ziarat,
2013 Balochistan, and
2021 Balochistan earthquakes - other similar related events
References
Sources
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Harnai earthquake
Earthquakes in Pakistan
Harnai Earthquake, 1997
1997 in Pakistan
February 1997 events in Asia
1997 disasters in Pakistan