The Harnai earthquake in Balochistan caused a significant amount of damage to Harnai and surrounding areas. Pakistan lies over three adjoining tectonic plates which makes it prone to earthquakes, especially areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. It was only after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake that Pakistan took the problem of earthquakes in this region seriously. Earthquakes cause devastation and destroy everything in their paths. Areas that lie on fault lines such as those in Balochistan have a higher chance of being affected by earthquakes. The Harnai earthquake has once again shaken the most destitute province of Pakistan that is already overridden with problems such as insurgency, terrorism and sectarian conflict. Among all these problems come the natural disasters that take much from people who have little to begin with.
This earthquake has once again jolted the province and if measures such as those taken after the Awaran and Kashmir earthquakes are repeated the rehabilitation process can begin right after the relief efforts. After the Kashmir earthquake of 2005 which took several thousands of lives and destroyed all infrastructure and farmland, the Pakistani government, along with aid from US military and other relief organizations, mostly restored and rehabilitated the area within a year. Although a huge amount of foreign funding was poured in which allowed for the restoration, the effort of Pakistanis cannot be dismissed. Similarly, in 2013 after the Awaran earthquake, a rehabilitation process began which involved tribal heads and learned people who were given options on what materials to use while rebuilding and were also taught how to rebuild their area. This allowed for a quick recovery.
If the lessons learned from the previous earthquakes and the aftermath of them are applied now, the process of rehabilitation can start as soon as relief efforts are complete. However, better structures should be built in the first place so that there is minimal damage when such natural disasters occur. There must be proper research regarding which area is more prone to damage and people of these areas should either be moved to other places or such strong structures should be built which will remain steadfast even during such calamities so that the need to rebuild again and again is eliminated.
