Quetta Earthquake 1935

  Quetta Earthquake 1935

It certainly lived on in the minds of the British community in India. Because Quetta was also home to the Staff College of the Indian Army, so that at any given time there were a lot of Burrah Sahibs (English Wives) running around the place, many of whom were victims.
The earthquake occurred at 02:33 am local time on 31 May 1935. The magnitude of this earthquake has been estimated at 7.7 based on geometric seismic moment. Ground deformation extended for 105 kilometres from the south side of the Chiltan range to Kalat, which was mostly in the form of 2-20 centimetre cracks. The ground on the western side of the cracks near Mastung was found to have risen on average up to 80 centimentres while in some places the earth was heaved up several metres. Near Mastung Road railway station the cracks ran across the Quetta-Nushki railway and deforming and offsetting the tracks vertically. These cracks indicate that the earthquake was associated with a zone of faults that run along the eastern edge of the Chiltan range extending southwards toward Mastung and Kalat.
The town of Quetta saw most of the fatalities and this earthquake has since been known as the Quetta Earthquake. The Civil Lines was completely destroyed and up to 15,000 people are thought to have perished here alone . The police lines, the durbar hall, the civil and mission hospitals and the club were ruined. A few reinforced concrete structures and the new railway quarters escaped with minor damage. The cantonment suffered much less damage, but a few buildings did collapse. That too was confined to a kilometre wide stretch that lay along the civil lines and the Durani Nallah, one of two watercourses that ran through the town. The fort was also damaged and many building collapsed. In the Royal Airforce Lines, the hangars at the airfield were all that were left standing though they were badly damaged. Every aircraft was rendered unsafe to fly. Piped water was not disrupted in Quetta and power supply carried on with a restricted load. Up to 26,000 people are believed to have been killed in Quetta alone and a few thousand bodies were left buried in the ruins. Most of the administration in Quetta was killed but troops from the military base organized rescue quickly. They evacuated survivors and cordoned off the town to prevent looting and the outbreak of epidemic as well as provided protection and salvaging property from destroyed structures. They also carried out mass burials or cremations of the dead. Letters written during that period by survivors contain vivid descriptions of the earthquake and its aftermath.