The earthquake struck on September 24 with a moment magnitude of 7.8 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX -- classified as 'Violent.' Its epicenter lay in Awaran District, a sparsely populated region of southern Pakistan where the Arabian, Eurasian, and Indian tectonic plates converge in a zone of extraordinary geological complexity. The source fault, the Hoshab Fault, ruptured with exclusively strike-slip motion along an old thrust fault within the accretionary wedge above the Makran Trench subduction zone. Peak slip along the fault ranked among the second largest ever recorded for a continental strike-slip earthquake, behind only New Zealand's 1855 Wairarapa earthquake. A 6.8 magnitude aftershock followed on September 28.

The island that appeared off Gwadar was a mud volcano, formed when methane gas trapped beneath the seabed was released by the quake's energy and pushed overlying sediment upward. Scientists from the Pakistan National Institute of Oceanography confirmed methane emissions from the island's surface. Gary Gibson of the University of Melbourne explained that the phenomenon, while dramatic, was not unprecedented: the British Geological Survey had documented a similar temporary island forming in the same waters in the 1940s. Local residents named it Zalzala Jazeera, meaning 'Earthquake Island.' As predicted, it eroded steadily and had disappeared beneath the waves by late 2016. The earthquake also generated a tsunami, triggered by an undersea landslide off the coast of Jiwani, which was recorded by tide gauges across the Arabian Sea.

At least 825 people died and 619 were injured. The earthquake affected approximately 300,000 people across the districts of Awaran, Kech, Gwadar, Panjgur, Chaghi, and Khuzdar. Most homes in the region were built with mud bricks, materials that offer almost no resistance to seismic shaking. Officials in Balochistan province reported that 80 percent of the homes in Awaran District had collapsed or been damaged. The district alone saw 386 deaths, 32,638 homes destroyed, and 14,118 more damaged. Total damage was estimated at US$100 million. Many survivors suffered broken bones or lost limbs when buildings fell on them. This was the deadliest earthquake to hit Pakistan since the devastating 2005 Kashmir earthquake.

The relief effort was crippled by the very conflict that had long defined Balochistan. The national army dispatched over 200 medical personnel and 1,000 soldiers, but Balochi separatists attacked military convoys carrying supplies. Two rockets were fired at a helicopter transporting the National Disaster Management Authority chairman and media crews. Two soldiers were killed in an explosion while delivering aid. Provincial officials initially denied entry to international organizations, citing security concerns, even as Doctors Without Borders stood ready to assist. The chief minister of Balochistan appealed to the federal government to reconsider. In December 2018, five years after the earthquake, the Pakistan army completed construction of 75 new homes in a village called Jebri, equipped with solar panels and running water -- a modest beginning to rebuilding a region where most residents still lived in poverty.