- Epicentre located in Sonmiani, 87km from Karachi: NSMC.
- Tremors also felt in Balochistan’s Hub, Vinder, Gadani.
- 3.2-magnitude quake rattles Sibi city earlier today.
A moderate earthquake measuring 5.2 struck parts of Karachi and Balochistan late on Monday night, causing panic among citizens.
The National Seismic Monitoring Centre of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said the earthquake’s epicentre was in Balochistan’s Sonmiani, with a depth of 12 kilometres and was centred about 87 kilometres from Karachi.
Sonmiani is a coastal village in southeastern Balochistan.
In Balochistan, the tremors were felt in Hub, Vinder, and Gadani.
Earlier today, a 3.2-magnitude earthquake rattled Balochistan’s Sibi city and surrounding areas, with its epicentre 53 kilometres away from the city, with no reports of any casualties or damage.
On December 3, mild tremors shook its Khuzdar and Sibi districts.
Khuzdar experienced a 3.3-magnitude earthquake at a depth of 15km, with its epicentre 80km southwest of the city, while Sibi felt tremors of magnitude 4.0 at a depth of 10km, centred about 50km southwest of Sibi.
The November 26 Sibi quake had a magnitude of 3.1, while its depth was recorded at around ten kilometres. The NSMC reported that the epicentre was located roughly 60 kilometres north-east of Sibi.
The tremors did not last long and caused no damage.
Parts of the province faced minor tremors earlier in November, also.
On November 8, the PMD’s seismic centre reported that tremors shook Ziarat and surrounding areas, registering a magnitude of 5.0.
The quake’s epicentre was pinpointed 67 kilometres northeast of Quetta.
The last major earthquake to hit Ziarat struck in 2008, claiming more than 200 lives and leaving around 500 injured.
Entire villages were flattened, and hundreds of homes and government buildings were reduced to rubble, forcing over 15,000 people from their homes.
The worst-hit areas were the small settlements of Ziarat, where roughly 170 people died, most of them women and children.
While other districts, including Pishin, Bolan, Chaman, and Quetta, also reported casualties and damage, according to reports.
The country has long been vulnerable to natural disasters, from the 2005 northern quake that killed 73,000 to the devastating 1935 earthquake in Quetta, which claimed around 30,000 lives.
Balochistan province largely sits along a seismic hotspot, where the Indian plate pushes against the Eurasian plate.
Balochistan, the country’s largest province, remains sparsely populated, making rescue and relief operations especially difficult.
