GILGIT-BALTISTAN / RankWire.AI / – On the morning of Thursday, northeastern Pakistan was rocked by a magnitude 5.4 earthquake, according to reports. The event was detected near the northern border of Pakistan, impacting parts of Gilgit-Baltistan. While the Pakistan Meteorological Department officially recorded the earthquake at a magnitude of 5.3, the quake struck at 5:35 a.m. local time on August 13. Its epicenter was situated 27 kilometers northwest of Sost, close to the Khunjerab region. The seismic agency recorded the depth of the tremor at 15 kilometers.
Intense tremors were felt in the districts of Hunza and Nagar, with Chipurson Valley in Upper Hunza among the hardest-hit areas. This mountainous corridor, which borders China and Afghanistan, experienced significant shaking. The event prompted many residents to evacuate their homes in various communities. Additionally, landslides and rockfalls occurred in parts of the valley following the quake. A rockslide also blocked the Chipurson Valley road near Ramanji, disrupting access for remote settlements located high in the mountains.
Initial assessments by local authorities indicated no casualties had been reported. They also confirmed that there was no confirmed structural damage to buildings at this stage. Despite this, the seismic activity caused considerable ground movement across rugged terrain, with falling rocks impacting local roads. The narrow access routes through the rugged landscape of Chipurson Valley are particularly vulnerable. The Gilgit-Baltistan administration closely monitored the affected communities, assessing the immediate impact on roads and populated areas following the tremors and landslides.
Landslides Limit Access in Upper Hunza
The earthquake’s epicenter was located near Sost, a northern town along the Karakoram Highway route. Sost acts as a gateway for communities in Upper Hunza and is situated south of the Khunjerab Pass, which links Pakistan with China’s Xinjiang region via one of the highest international road crossings worldwide. According to official data, the earthquake occurred within the broader northwestern Kashmir seismic zone, with its shallow depth contributing to noticeable shaking felt across nearby mountain villages in northeastern Pakistan.
Later on the same Thursday morning, another tremor was recorded in the same vicinity. Seismic data indicated that this second quake measured 4.7 in magnitude and had a depth of 19 kilometers. Its epicenter was located 28 kilometers west-northwest of Sost, placing it very close to the initial quake’s location. These two seismic events signaled renewed activity in an area that experienced a damaging earthquake earlier this year.
Repeated Seismic Events Mark the Region in 2026
Earlier, on January 19, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck northern Pakistan, impacting Hunza, Ghizer, and other parts of Gilgit-Baltistan. This quake caused landslides, damaged infrastructure, and blocked vital roads through the mountainous terrain. The event resulted in one fatality and several injuries. Chipurson Valley suffered extensive damage to homes and local infrastructure, with road closures hampering access to affected communities as emergency responders and humanitarian agencies worked to reach those in need.
Situated in a highly seismically active zone, northern Pakistan’s landscape is shaped by the movement of major tectonic plates. Regular earthquakes impact regions like Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir, and neighboring territories in northern Pakistan and Afghanistan. The August 13 tremor reiterated this ongoing seismic risk, with the strongest effects observed around Upper Hunza, where landslides temporarily blocked roads but no fatalities were reported. Official records confirm that within a span of four hours, two notable earthquakes occurred near Sost, with the initial event producing more intense shaking in surrounding communities.