- Residents briefly went outside before the shaking stopped.
- The epicenter was placed approximately 23 km southeast of Loralai.
- No early reports of damage or injuries.
Mild shaking moved through Loralai and nearby areas early Saturday, the kind that would make people take a break from what they’re doing and get outside just to be safe.
According to the National Earthquake Monitoring Center (NSMC), the event unfolded quickly, almost as soon as residents realized what was happening.
The seismic bureau later assessed it at magnitude 3.4, with an epicenter located about 23 kilometers to the southeast.
No damage was reported during these first hours.
Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, Sibi had its own brief jolt.
This one arrived with a magnitude of 3.1, at shallow depth and within seconds, somewhere about 60 kilometers northeast of the district.
Nothing serious came of it, but authorities say they are still keeping an eye on both locations as a safety precaution.
Parts of the province also faced minor tremors earlier this month.
The NSMC, which is managed by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), reported that earthquakes shook Ziarat and its surrounding areas, recording a magnitude of 5.0.
The epicenter of the November 8 earthquake was located 67 kilometers northeast of Quetta. However, no reports of damage or casualties have been released.
The last major earthquake to hit Ziarat occurred in 2008, killing more than 200 people and injuring around 500.
Entire villages were razed and hundreds of homes and government buildings were reduced to rubble, forcing more than 15,000 people from their homes.
The worst-hit areas were the small settlements of Ziarat, where around 170 people died, mostly women and children.
Other districts, including Pishin, Bolan, Chaman and Quetta, also reported casualties and damage, according to reports.
The country has long been vulnerable to natural disasters, from the 2005 earthquake in the north of the country, which killed 73,000 people, to the devastating Quetta earthquake in 1935, which claimed the lives of around 30,000 people.
Balochistan province lies largely along a seismic hotspot, where the Indian plate butts up against the Eurasian plate.
Balochistan, the country’s largest province, remains sparsely populated, making rescue and relief operations particularly difficult.
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck near the northern Afghan town of Mazar-e-Sharif early on November 3, killing at least seven people and injuring about 150 others, just months after an earthquake and strong aftershocks killed more than 2,200 people in late August.
