Pakistan Earthquake Was So Strong It Created a New Island

Tuesday afternoon Pakistan was hit with a 7.8-magnitude earthquake, leading to destroyed homes, dozens killed and the creation of a new island.

The BBC reported that Pakistani media outlets have claimed the movement of the earth's crust spawned a small island about a half mile off the coast of Gwadar.

A local news report shows the small island that formed off the coast of Gwadar. (Image via YouTube video screenshot)

Zahid Rafi with the National Seismic Monitoring Center confirmed the island's formation to CNN, calling it "not surprising" given the earthquake's magnitude.

Gwadar Police Chief Pervez Umrani said the new land mass is visible from the beach, estimating it at 30 feet high and 109 yards long.

The island is said to be only slightly longer than a football field.  (Image via YouTube video screenshot)

Take a look at the island in this TV report:

At least 45 people were killed and dozens wounded in the quake.

The Pakistani military said it was rushing troops and helicopters to Baluchistan province's Awaran district, where the quake was centered, as well as the nearby area of Khuzdar.

Pakistani office workers leave an office building after an earthquake in Karachi on Sept. 24, 2013. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southwestern Pakistan with tremors felt as far away as the Indian capital New Delhi. The area of the epicenter is sparsely populated, but the U.S. Geological Survey issued a red alert for the quake, warning that heavy casualties were likely, based on past data. (AFP/Getty Images/Rizwan Tabassum)

The area where the quake struck is at the center of an insurgency that Baluch separatists have been waging against the Pakistani government for years. The separatists regularly attack Pakistani troops trying to suppress the uprising as well as symbols of the Pakistani state, such as infrastructure projects.

People rush out of their offices after they felt a major earthquake that struck Baluchistan province in southwest Pakistan, 430 miles from Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013. (AP)

Pakistan's chief meteorologist, Mohammed Riaz, put the magnitude of the quake at 7.7, while the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo. said it was a magnitude 7.8.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

(H/T: io9)

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