Deadly quake hits southwestern Pakistan

October 29, 2008 A deadly earthquake has hit the Balochistan region of south western Pakistan. The magnitude 6.4 quake struck approximately 70km north of Quetta at 04:09 local time (23:09 UTC), and had a depth of 10km.

Government officials have reported that many houses collapsed due to both the earthquake and the landslides that it spawned. More than 160 people have been reported killed so far, with at least 200 injured. It is expected that the death toll will rise as the rescue and recovery continues.

According to officials the worst struck areas are: Ziarat, Pishin, Qila Abdullah, Chaman, Loralai,Sibbi, and Mastung.

Seventy-three years ago Quetta was almost completely destroyed in an earthquake, and death toll was about 35,000 people.

In October 2005, during the holy month of Ramadan, more than 75,000 people were killed in an earthquake in north-west Pakistan, and around 100,000 people wounded. More then half a million people lost their homes.