Magnitude-5.2 Earthquake Strikes Karachi and Balochistan, Causes Panic Among Residents

A moderate earthquake measuring 5.2 rattled parts of Karachi and Balochistan late Monday night, prompting widespread panic among residents.

According to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the earthquake’s epicentre was located in Balochistan’s Sonmiani, at a depth of 12 kilometres, approximately 87 kilometres from Karachi. Sonmiani is a coastal village in southeastern Balochistan.

Tremors were also felt in other areas of Balochistan, including Hub, Vinder, and Gadani.

Earlier in the day, a 3.2-magnitude earthquake struck Sibi city and its surrounding areas, with the epicentre located 53 kilometres from the city. No casualties or damage were reported.

This follows a series of mild tremors in Balochistan earlier this month. On December 3, Khuzdar and Sibi districts experienced quakes measuring 3.3 and 4.0, respectively, with depths ranging from 10 to 15 kilometres. The November 26 Sibi quake registered a magnitude of 3.1 at a depth of around ten kilometres. These tremors were brief and caused no damage.

In November, minor tremors were also felt in parts of the province. On November 8, the PMD reported a magnitude-5.0 quake shaking Ziarat and nearby areas, with the epicentre 67 kilometres northeast of Quetta.

Balochistan has a history of devastating earthquakes. The last major quake in Ziarat occurred in 2008, claiming more than 200 lives and injuring around 500 people. Entire villages were flattened, and hundreds of homes and government buildings were reduced to rubble, displacing over 15,000 residents. The most affected areas were small settlements in Ziarat, where roughly 170 people perished, mostly women and children. Other districts, including Pishin, Bolan, Chaman, and Quetta, also reported casualties and extensive damage.

Historically, Pakistan has been highly vulnerable to seismic activity, including the 2005 northern earthquake, which killed 73,000 people, and the 1935 Quetta earthquake, which claimed approximately 30,000 lives.

Geologically, Balochistan sits along a seismic hotspot, where the Indian plate pushes against the Eurasian plate, making the region particularly prone to earthquakes. Being the country’s largest but sparsely populated province, Balochistan faces challenges in rescue and relief operations following such disasters.