- Epicenter located in Sonmiani, 87km from Karachi: NSMC.
- Tremors in Balochistan were felt in Hub, Vinder and Gadani.
- A 3.2 magnitude earthquake shook the town of Sibi earlier today.
A moderate earthquake of magnitude 5.2 struck parts of Karachi and Balochistan on Monday evening, causing panic among citizens.
The National Seismic Monitoring Center of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said the epicenter of the earthquake was in Sonmiani, Balochistan, at a depth of 12 kilometers and was centered about 87 kilometers 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 shook the town of Sibi in Balochistan and its surrounding areas, with its epicenter located 53 kilometers from the town, without causing any casualties or damage.
On December 3, slight tremors shook the districts of Khuzdar and Sibi.
Khuzdar experienced a magnitude 3.3 earthquake at a depth of 15 km, with its epicenter 80 km southwest of the city, while Sibi felt magnitude 4.0 tremors at a depth of 10 km, centered about 50 km southwest of Sibi.
The Sibi earthquake of November 26 had a magnitude of 3.1, while its depth was recorded at around ten kilometers. The NSMC said the epicenter was located about 60 kilometers northeast of Sibi.
The tremors did not last long and did not cause any damage.
Parts of the province also faced minor tremors in early November.
On November 8, the PMD seismic center shook Ziarat and its surroundings, recording a magnitude of 5.0.
The epicenter of the earthquake was located 67 kilometers northeast of Quetta.
The last major earthquake to hit Ziarat occurred in 2008, killing more than 200 people and injuring around 500.
Entire villages were razed and hundreds of homes and government buildings were reduced to rubble, forcing more than 15,000 people from their homes.
The worst-hit areas were the small settlements of Ziarat, where around 170 people died, mostly women and children.
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 earthquake in the north of the country, which killed 73,000 people, to the devastating Quetta earthquake in 1935, which claimed the lives of around 30,000 people.
Balochistan province lies largely along a seismic hotspot, where the Indian plate butts up against the Eurasian plate.
Balochistan, the country’s largest province, remains sparsely populated, making rescue and relief operations particularly difficult.
