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A strong earthquake measuring 7.2 has hit south-western Pakistan, in a desert area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, the US Geological Survey says.
The quake struck at 0123 on Wednesday (2023 GMT on Tuesday), some 55 km (34 miles) west of Dalbandin in Pakistan, at a depth of 84km (52 miles).
It was located several hundred kilometres from the Pakistani city of Quetta and the city of Zahedan, Iran.
The 7.6-magnitude Kashmir earthquake of October 2005 killed 73,000 people.
In its initial reports the US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake happened at a depth of just 10km (6.2 miles).
Earthquakes at such a shallow depth have the potential to cause major destruction and loss of life.
However, a later bulletin from the USGS revised the depth of the quake to 84km, potentially limiting the effects.
News from the region close to the quake was limited, but local officials indicated damage was not extensive in nearby towns.
However, reports said the quake was felt across Pakistan and as far away as Delhi, India, and the Gulf emirates of Dubai and Qatar.
An automatically generated USGS estimate suggested that 109,000 people in the region aroudn the epicentre could be exposed to "very strong" shaking and "moderate/heavy" structural damage, but none to "severe" shaking or "heavy damage".
Farrukh from Karachi e-mailed the BBC with his account of how the quake shook his ninth-floor home.
"I suddenly felt my head spinning and within a few seconds I realised that a strong earthquake had hit us.
"It was as if you multiplied the effect on the ground to perhaps two or three times. My whole family were woken up with fear and the children started screaming. It was quite shocking and fearful and I prayed for Allah to help us," he said.
The quake struck at 0123 on Wednesday (2023 GMT on Tuesday), some 55 km (34 miles) west of Dalbandin in Pakistan, at a depth of 84km (52 miles).
It was located several hundred kilometres from the Pakistani city of Quetta and the city of Zahedan, Iran.
The 7.6-magnitude Kashmir earthquake of October 2005 killed 73,000 people.
In its initial reports the US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake happened at a depth of just 10km (6.2 miles).
Earthquakes at such a shallow depth have the potential to cause major destruction and loss of life.
However, a later bulletin from the USGS revised the depth of the quake to 84km, potentially limiting the effects.
News from the region close to the quake was limited, but local officials indicated damage was not extensive in nearby towns.
However, reports said the quake was felt across Pakistan and as far away as Delhi, India, and the Gulf emirates of Dubai and Qatar.
An automatically generated USGS estimate suggested that 109,000 people in the region aroudn the epicentre could be exposed to "very strong" shaking and "moderate/heavy" structural damage, but none to "severe" shaking or "heavy damage".
Farrukh from Karachi e-mailed the BBC with his account of how the quake shook his ninth-floor home.
"I suddenly felt my head spinning and within a few seconds I realised that a strong earthquake had hit us.
"It was as if you multiplied the effect on the ground to perhaps two or three times. My whole family were woken up with fear and the children started screaming. It was quite shocking and fearful and I prayed for Allah to help us," he said.