1935 Quetta earthquake

Balochistan lies across the boundary between the northward moving Indian plate and the Eurasian plate. Near Quetta, the movement across this boundary of 36–45 mm per year, is highly oblique and is mainly accommodated by large left-lateral strike-slip faults, particularly the Chaman Fault and the Ghazaband Fault. These zones link the convergence zone associated with the Makran subduction zone in the southwest to the main Himalayan convergence zone to the northeast. An element of convergence across the plate boundary is accommodated by a zone of shortening forming the Kirthar fold and thrust belt to the south and the Sulaiman fold and thrust belt to the north. ==Earthquake==

Movement on the Ghazaband Fault resulted in an earthquake early in the morning on 31 May 1935 estimated anywhere between the hours of 2:33 am which lasted for three minutes with continuous aftershocks. Although there were no instruments good enough to precisely measure the magnitude of the earthquake, modern estimates cite the magnitude as being a minimum of 7.7 and previous estimates of 8.1 are now regarded as an overestimate. The epicentre of the quake was established to be 4-kilometres south-west of the town of Ali Jaan in Balochistan, some 153-kilometres away from Quetta in British India. The earthquake caused destruction in almost all the towns close to Quetta, including the city itself, and tremors were felt as far as Agra, now in India. The largest aftershock was later measured at 5.8 occurring on 2 June 1935. The aftershock, however, did not cause any damage in Quetta, but the towns of Mastung, Maguchar and Kalat were seriously affected. == Aftermath ==

Casualties Most of the reported casualties occurred in the city of Quetta. Initial communiqué drafts issued by the government estimated a total of 25,000 people buried under the rubble, 10,000 survivors and 4,000 injured. The city was badly damaged and was immediately prepared to be sealed under military guard with medical advice. The weather did not help, and the scorching summer heat made matters worse. Bodies of European and Anglo-Indians were recovered and buried in a British cemetery where soldiers had dug trenches. Padres performed the burial service in haste, with soldiers quickly covering the graves. The 6th Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, Gul Hassan Khan, who was 14 at the time, survived the earthquake, having also survived the previous one in 1930. == See also ==