Quetta Earthquake 1935

Like all major cities, Quetta, which in its glorious times was also called “Little Paris”, has a story of destruction. The beautiful city that is surrounded by streams and mountains turned upside down because of an earthquake in 1935.

Eighty-four years ago, at around 2:33 a.m. in the morning of May 31, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5tremor hit Quetta and changed its shape forever. The earthquake of 1935 is known to be the deadliest earthquake in the history of Balochistan, killing as many as 35,000 people, injuring and displacing thousands more. The month of May to date brings back the drastic memories of the earthquake for the residents of Quetta.

Pakistan is susceptible to earthquakes due to its location at the intersection of Indian, Eurasian, and Arabian plate boundaries. Most of the earthquakes in western Pakistan occur along the boundary of the Indian tectonic plate. These plate boundaries have compact active faults. According to geologists, the earthquake of 1935 was a result of the Chaman fault moving against the Chiltan fault. Hence, all villages between Quetta and Kalat were destroyed resulting in the death of 70% of the population. Mastung was razed to the ground causing the death of 1,736 people and 1,206 people had died in the village of Sariab. The destruction of Kansi killed 1,010 people, 710 people had died at the villages of Tiri, and 369 at Pringabad. The houses in the city and the villages in its periphery could not withstand the earthquake and were reduced to debris. Consequently, many people died under the debris of the buildings.

While the earthquake did affect the periphery towns and villages of Quetta, the town itself faced greater causalities. For this reason, the earthquake of 1935 is also known as Quetta Earthquake. It destroyed large-scale infrastructures of the city including the civil lines, the Bethel Memorial Methodist Church, Bruce Road, and Quetta Railway Station. The destruction of civil lines alone caused the death of 15,000 people. The Miri Fort too was destroyed. The broken telegraph lines disrupted the communication. Although roads and railway routes did not face much damage, some parts of railways track had to be repaired as ran within a zone of the cleft.

Since most of the city administration had died in the earthquake, the troops from British India military base had come to rescue. Approximately 12,000 military men within 45 minutes had started a relief operation. The British General Kalrslake and Sir Norman Contar took charge of the relief operation and called doctors and nurses from all different parts of British India. While some wounded people were treated in the headquarters of Karlslake, more than 5,000 injured were given medical care in the Cantt hospital.

After the earthquake, the British government formed building codes and rules to be followed for future construction in Quetta and the periphery areas of the city. The Building Code banned cemented roofs and encouraged a wooden roof with a height of 30 feet. Despite the presence of this rigid law, many people including real estate companies have violated the Building Code. As many as 200 building owners have received notices for violation of the code.

Today, the city has risen from the debris of buildings, new hospitals, schools, colleges, and universities have been established. However, the violation of the building code and the use of cemented roofs might bring the same fate to the city if left unchecked by the concerned authorities. Thus, the Quetta Metropolitan Corporation should be made accountable in ensuring the implementation of the building code.