Earthquake rocks Pakistan

Epicenter and population map for the Jan. 18th, 2011 earthquake in Pakistan.
Epicenter and population map for the Jan. 18th, 2011 earthquake in Pakistan.
Epicenter and population map for today's earthquake in Pakistan. Yellow and orange indicate populated areas. Image courtesy of UN World Food Program. (Click to enlarge)

On the show this morning we asked our guest, University of Colorado earth scientist Roger Bilham, about the possibility of a major earthquake in the Himalayan region. He confirmed that the region was overdue for a major quake and that people living in poor, rural areas would certainly be at risk from building collapse if — or when — such a quake were to occur.

Just a few hours later, Balochistan province in southwest Pakistan was hit with a magnitude 7.2 quake. How On Earth contributor Tom Yulsman, who hosted the interview with Bilham, has more details and further comments from Bilham at the CEJournal blog.

UPDATE: It appears that the epicenter was in a relatively unpopulated area. About 200 mud-wall homes were destroyed, but there were very few casualties. Contrast that with the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir, during which around 75,000 people died — most of them buried under the rubble of collapsed buildings.

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