PMD Reported 33 Earthquakes From 1 September to 9 October 2026: 9 Inside Pakistan, 13 in the Hindu Kush
PMD issued 33 earthquake releases from 1 September to 9 October 2026. Nine were inside Pakistan, the strongest 4.6. See the count and how to read a release.
Short answer: PMD's seismic centre issued 33 earthquake press releases from 1 September to 9 October 2026. Nine were quakes inside Pakistan, all between magnitude 3.0 and 4.6. Thirteen were in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan, and the largest of the 33 was a magnitude 7.3 quake off Panama on 9 October.
Every few days a message says "earthquake tremors felt in Islamabad" and nobody knows where it came from. Often the epicentre is far away and deep in the ground. PMD's list shows how often.
We read each press release on the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) seismic page, one by one, on 14 October 2026. This is the count, with the strongest quakes and a simple way to read the next one.
PMD issued 33 earthquake releases in 39 days
From 1 September to 9 October 2026, PMD's seismic press release page listed 33 events. That is nearly one release a day. Releases are only for events PMD chose to announce, so this is not a full list of every tremor.
The page lists the date, the time in Pakistan Standard Time, the magnitude, the depth in kilometres, the latitude and longitude, and the epicentre. We counted them by region.
| Where the epicentre was | Releases | Magnitude range |
|---|---|---|
| Hindu Kush region, Afghanistan | 13 | 4.0 to 5.4 |
| Inside Pakistan | 9 | 3.0 to 4.6 |
| Tajikistan and its borders | 5 | 4.5 to 5.1 |
| Elsewhere in the world | 6 | 6.1 to 7.3 |
The counts and ranges are our tally from the PMD pages. The 14 August release, which falls before the window, is not included.
Nine quakes struck inside Pakistan, none above 4.6
PMD named nine epicentres inside Pakistan or its administered areas. They were in Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Azad Kashmir. The strongest was magnitude 4.6, 27 km west of Sost in Gilgit-Baltistan, on 27 September at 20:01.
The other eight were smaller or similar. Here are the five strongest.
- 27 September: magnitude 4.6, 27 km west of Sost, depth 43 km.
- 21 September: magnitude 4.5, 45 km east of Khuzdar, Balochistan, depth 30 km.
- 28 September: magnitude 4.1, 74 km west of Sost, depth 35 km.
- 10 September: magnitude 4.0, north-west Kashmir, 40 km north-west of Sost, depth 20 km.
- 23 September: magnitude 3.8, near Chaman, Balochistan, depth 12 km.
The weaker ones were 3.6 near Drosh in Chitral, 3.2 east of Muzaffarabad, and two of 3.0 near Kalam and Batgram. PMD's releases do not say whether any quake was felt or caused damage, and we found no such statement.
Hindu Kush quakes are often deep, so they shake less
The Hindu Kush supplied the most releases. Eleven of its 13 quakes were deeper than 80 km, and the deepest were 224 km. A deep quake loses force before it reaches the surface, but a big one can still be felt across a wide area.
The strongest in the window was magnitude 5.4 on 1 October at 06:29, at a depth of 45 km, which is shallower than most. Three more reached 5.0: on 1 September, 9 September and 5 October. The 5 October one was at 224 km.
Depth is the number to read first. A magnitude 4.6 at 43 km under Gilgit-Baltistan can be felt more than a magnitude 5.0 at 224 km under Afghanistan. The magnitude alone does not tell you how hard the ground shook.
The 7.3 quake off Panama was too far to matter here
The largest release was a magnitude 7.3 quake at a depth of 10 km, listed with an epicentre in Panama at 22:56 on 9 October. PMD also listed larger foreign quakes of 6.1 to 6.3 in Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Aleutian region.
These sit thousands of kilometres away. PMD publishes them as part of its seismic monitoring. The releases do not say any of them posed a threat to Pakistan, and we found no tsunami notice for the coast on the page.
Use the same reading for any message you receive. Check the epicentre, the depth and the time against the PMD list before you forward anything.
Read an earthquake release in four steps
Open PMD's seismic press release page and look at the newest item. Read the epicentre first, then the magnitude and depth. Then check the date and time, because old releases are often shared again as new ones.
- Open the PMD seismic press releases page.
- Read the epicentre. Is it in Pakistan or abroad?
- Read the magnitude and the depth together.
- Check the date and the time in Pakistan Standard Time.
For a fuller walk-through, see how to check an earthquake in Pakistan on PMD. If the ground shakes, follow NDMA's drop, cover and hold on steps. And before the next one, you can prepare your home for an earthquake.
Common questions about PMD earthquake releases
How many earthquakes did PMD report in Pakistan this autumn?
Nine press releases between 1 September and 9 October 2026 named epicentres inside Pakistan. The strongest was magnitude 4.6 near Sost in Gilgit-Baltistan on 27 September.
Where is the PMD earthquake list?
It is on the seismic section of weather.gov.pk, under press releases. Each item gives date, time, magnitude, depth, latitude, longitude and epicentre.
Why do Pakistanis feel Hindu Kush quakes?
The Hindu Kush region sits close to Pakistan's north-west. Stronger quakes there can be felt across a wide area, even when they are deep. PMD's releases do not say which were felt.
Is every tremor listed?
No. We counted only the 33 events PMD published as press releases. Smaller tremors may be recorded but not announced.
Does a foreign quake threaten Pakistan?
Not by itself. PMD lists world events such as the 9 October quake off Panama, and we found no tsunami notice for Pakistan alongside it.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked 14 October 2026. All data comes from the PMD seismic press releases page and the individual release pages. Counts by region are our own tally, and region labels follow PMD's epicentre text. We cannot say which quakes were felt, and PMD has not published a monthly summary we could compare with. For official safety rules, see NDMA's advisories page.
About the author
Public Services and Education Journalist
Fajr Riaz is a journalist and content writer at Pakistan Era, based in Lahore. She covers the questions people meet in everyday life in Pakistan: how a public service works, what a change in the rules means, and where to find a reliable answer.
