356+ dead in 7.8 magnitude southwest Pakistan earthquake; new island formed off Gwadar coast

[Emily]

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/09/201392412550158409.html

Dozens dead in southwest Pakistan earthquake

At least 45 people have been killed and more than 100 injured after a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southwestern Pakistan, according to local officials.

The provincial government has declared an emergency in Awaran district of Balochistan, the area worst hit by the quake, which struck at 4:29pm local time (11:29 GMT) at a depth of 15km.

The Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority, the department tasked with responding to such incidents in Pakistan, put the death toll at 45, with more than 100 injured. An ERRA official told Al Jazeera that many people were still trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings.

The Pakistani military has said that it has commenced rescue operations in the area.

The USGS originally measured the earthquake at a magnitude of 7.4 and depth of 29km, but later revised that figure. Pakistan's meteorological office said the magnitude was 7.7...

http://tribune.com.pk/story/608602/earthquake-strikes-pakistan/

Earthquake creates new island off Gwadar coastline
By AFP / Web Desk
Published: September 24, 2013
A powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing at least 45 people in Balochistan, besides creating a new island off the Gwadar coastline in its wake, Express News reported.

Tremors were felt as far as the Indian capital New Delhi.

The quake struck at 4:29 pm local time (1129 GMT) around 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of the city of Khuzdar in Balochistan province, at a depth of 15 kilometres.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) measured the earthquake at magnitude 7.8, recording its duration as eight seconds.

On the Gwadar coastline, the quake created a small island about half a mile into the sea near an area called ?Jhanda?, according to Express News.

The newly appearing island is said to have a mountainous terrain rising up to a hundred feet. A large crowd was seen gathering at the site to see the new island...

 

[Emily]

Re: Dozens dead in 7.8 magnitude southwest Pakistan earthquake; new island formed off Gwadar coast (unconfirmed)

Re: Dozens dead in 7.8 magnitude southwest Pakistan earthquake; new island formed off Gwadar coast (unconfirmed)

The new island news reports might be based on one user-submitted video:

<object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/6hdYGfhJRxs?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/6hdYGfhJRxs?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

I haven't been able to find confirmation.

 

[Emily]

Re: Dozens dead in 7.8 magnitude southwest Pakistan earthquake; new island formed off Gwadar coast (unconfirmed)

Re: Dozens dead in 7.8 magnitude southwest Pakistan earthquake; new island formed off Gwadar coast (unconfirmed)

This is good confirmation, I think:

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/24/world/asia/pakistan-earthquake/?hpt=hp_t3

40 dead in Pakistan earthquake
By CNN Staff
September 24, 2013 -- Updated 1557 GMT (2357 HKT)
...
The quake was strong enough to cause a mass 30 to 40 feet high to emerge from the ocean like a small mountain island off the coast of Gwadar, local police official Mozzam Jah said. A large number of people gathered to view the newly formed island, he said.

Zahid Rafi, principal seismologist of the National Seismic Monitoring Center, confirmed the island had formed. He said it was "not surprising" considering the magnitude of the earthquake.

Journalist Sophia Saifi contributed to this report.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Dozens dead in 7.8 magnitude southwest Pakistan earthquake; new island formed off Gwadar coast

Re: Dozens dead in 7.8 magnitude southwest Pakistan earthquake; new island formed off Gwadar coast

Source: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000jyiv#summary

M7.7 - 66km NNE of Awaran, Pakistan 2013-09-24 11:29:48 UTC
PAGER - RED ShakeMap - IX DYFI? - V
Earthquake location 27.000?N, 65.514?EReturn to the EQ List/Map/Search
kml iconGoogle Earth KML
Summary
Location and Magnitude contributed by: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
General
+-
50 km
30 mi
Powered by Leaflet
Pakistan

More: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000jyiv#pager
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000jyiv#shakemap
27.000?N, 65.514?E
Depth: 20.0km (12.4mi)
Event Time

2013-09-24 11:29:48 UTC
2013-09-24 16:29:48 UTC+05:00 at epicenter
2013-09-24 07:29:48 UTC-04:00 system time

Location

27.000?N 65.514?E depth=20.0km (12.4mi)
Nearby Cities

66km (41mi) NNE of Awaran, Pakistan
116km (72mi) NW of Bela, Pakistan
172km (107mi) NW of Uthal, Pakistan
175km (109mi) S of Kharan, Pakistan
791km (492mi) ENE of Muscat, Oman

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Dozens dead in 7.8 magnitude southwest Pakistan earthquake; new island formed off Gwadar coast

Re: Dozens dead in 7.8 magnitude southwest Pakistan earthquake; new island formed off Gwadar coast

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/222713/deadly-quake-pulls-island-from-sea

Deadly quake pulls island from sea
Updated at 7:36 am today

A major earthquake has hit a remote part of western Pakistan, killing at least 46 people and prompting a new island to rise from the sea just off the country's southern coast.

The 7.7 magnitude earthquake shook buildings as far away as the Indian capital of New Delhi, hundreds of kilometres to the east.

The United States Geological Survey says the earthquake struck 235 km southeast of Dalbandin in Pakistan's quake-prone province of Baluchistan, which borders Iran.

The earthquake was so powerful it caused the seabed to rise and create a small, mountain-like island about 600 metres off Pakistan's Gwadar coastline in the Arabian Sea, Reuters reports...

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Dozens dead in 7.8 magnitude southwest Pakistan earthquake; new island formed off Gwadar coast

Re: Dozens dead in 7.8 magnitude southwest Pakistan earthquake; new island formed off Gwadar coast

Source: http://earthquake-report.com/2013/09/24/massive-earthquake-pakistan-on-september-24-2013/

Massive earthquake in Pakistan ? At least 150 killed and 100′s injured ? estimated damage : 100 million US$

Last update: September 24, 2013 at 8:41 pm by By Ashish Khanal

This page will automatically refresh every 10 minutes as we might be adding regular updates. Keep it open in a browser tab.
-

Update 20:32 UTC : The army dispatched 300 soldiers, rescue and medical teams and a helicopter to the worst-hit areas. Chief Minister Abdul Malik said an emergency had been declared in Awaran, seven to eight hours? drive from Quetta, the provincial capital.
Fatalities data are varying depending the source. In dian sources are now stating 80 dead and 80 injured. Most Pakistani sources who have their own information channels are maintaining the 150 number...

 

[Emily]

Re: 150+ dead in 7.8 magnitude southwest Pakistan earthquake; new island formed off Gwadar coast

Re: 150+ dead in 7.8 magnitude southwest Pakistan earthquake; new island formed off Gwadar coast

In 2010, http://tribune.com.pk/ posted this to their Youtube account, theexpresstribune:

New island emerges near Balochistan coast
Uploaded on Nov 26, 2010

Video from Hangol in Balochistan where the discovery of a new island, a 3km by 3km piece of land that has surfaced near the coast, has left fishermen terrified. More here: http://tribune.com.pk/story/82150/new-island-emerges-from-the-depths/
<object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/8QXIk89TRFk?hl=en_US&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/8QXIk89TRFk?hl=en_US&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

So there is an emerging hypothesis, at least, that the new island could be a mud volcano. Geologists are examining the relationship between earthquakes and mud volcanoes:
Earthquake triggering of mud volcanoes
Marine and Petroleum Geology 26 (2009) 1785?1798

Here's a good article about the regional history of the relationship of great earthquakes and mud volcano appearances dating back to 1835:

http://pakistaniat.com/2007/03/02/mud-volcanoes-volcano-balochistan-baluchistan-hingol-offroad-makran-pasni-hinglaj/

Mud Volcanoes of Balochistan
Owais Mughal
Posted on March 2, 2007
Pakistan?s Balochistan province is gifted with a diverse landscape. Among many geological wonders here, one big attraction is the presence of 18 mud volcanoes.

In fact world?s largest and highest known mud volcano is located in Balochistan. The altitude of this highest mud volcano is 300 ft. The mud volcanoes of Balochistan are not only located on the land but from time to time they appear as small temporary islands in the Arabian Sea also...

NASA has a photo of the mud volcano that formed in 2010:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=48801