On Saturday Morning an Unusually powerful M5.7 Earthquake struck near Khuzdar in Pakistan.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on October 17th, 2026.

An unusually powerful MAG-5.7 earthquake struck under land 49 kilometer from Khuzdar in Pakistan in the morning of Saturday October 17th, 2026. Earthquakes like this can cause significant economic damage and have a significant risk at casualties.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Pakistan, 49 kilometer (30 mi) northwest of Khuzdar in Balochistan. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Oct 17, 2026 10:06 (Karachi Time) - Oct 17, 2026 05:06 Universal Time.
Location:	49 km NW of Khuzdar, Balochistan, Pakistan. Coordinates 28°1'4"N 66°10'15"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.7 Detected by 11 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.093 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VIII Severe On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Significant impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 50% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 97% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 100.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 39% likelyhood of between 1 and 10 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 100 million USD.

Roughly 1 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 1 million have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

An estimated 3,590 people were exposed to level VII. At this level, very strong shaking and likely moderate damage can be expected. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 0.8 million). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Pakistan .

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Pakistan . Khuzdar in Balochistan, Pakistan is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 49 kilometer (30 mi) northwest of Khuzdar. The intensity of shaking and damage in Khuzdar is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Quetta is located 254 km to the north (intensity unknown, possibly low). Khuzdar is located 49 km to the south-east and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Larkana is located 207 km to the east (intensity unknown, possibly low).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is VII.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 2 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 2 people have reported shaking in 2 places in Pakistan.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Sūrāb, Baluchistan, Pakistan: 1 person.
• Karachi, Sind, Pakistan: 1 person.

Risk of aftershocks?

We have not yet detected any foreshocks or aftershocks (MAG-2.5 or higher) within 100km (62 mi) of this earthquake.

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

This is the strongest earthquake in 5 years

Earthquakes of this strength are not so common in the region, but it's not the first time. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since October 6th, 2021, when a 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit 300 km (186 mi) further north-east. That was also the heaviest earthquake to hit the region in the past 10 years.

In total, 1 earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 10 years.

Tsunami very unlikely

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 17/10/26 21:48 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000u2y1
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20261017_0000062
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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