Expert recommends preparing for earthquakes in Karachi, saying city is located near three-plate intersection and multiple fault lines
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake that struck Karachi on Tuesday evening took place in the Sonmiani area of Hub district, where three tectonic plates meet: the Arabian plate, the Eurasian plate and the Indian plate. This fact requires precautions from the people of Karachi.
Tectonic plates are massive, irregularly shaped plates of solid rock that make up the Earth’s lithosphere (crust and upper mantle) and move slowly over the asthenosphere (semi-molten rock below) due to internal heat.
Speaking to The Express PK Press Club, National Earthquake Center director Ameer Haider Laghari said the earthquake was caused by movement of the Arabian plate at the junction.
Read: Magnitude 5.2 earthquake reported in Karachi
“As a result, tremors and vibrations were felt in many areas of Karachi. Fortunately, the intensity and depth of the earthquake was weak,” he said, adding that the place near Sonmiani, from where the earthquake occurred, also has no human settlements.
According to Laghari, this was not the first time an earthquake of this magnitude – slightly higher on the Richter scale than recent tremors in the past – had been recorded.
However, he cautioned, this does not mean people should become completely complacent. Previously, a 5.0 magnitude earthquake was also recorded in 2020.
He said the fault lines and tectonic boundaries near Karachi are mostly located at shallow depths, where very high intensity earthquakes have never been recorded.
A fault line is a fracture or zone of fractures in the Earth’s crust where blocks of rock move relative to each other, releasing stress during earthquakes or slowly through creep.
Karachi lies close to several active fault lines, including the local Landhi Fault, the Malir Fault and the neighboring Hub Fault, influenced by the tectonic boundary of the Arabian, Indian and Eurasian plates.
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Experts identify about five active fault lines in the surrounding area, with recent minor tremors often releasing energy along the Landhi-Korangi fault.
Laghari emphasized that whether an earthquake occurs at sea in the form of a tsunami or on land, basic preparedness training is extremely important, and earthquake-resistant construction is equally essential, requiring special attention.
According to him, a micro-level study on earthquakes in Karachi was also carried out during the current year. “During this study, a number of earthquakes were recorded on the Richter scale, although people could not feel them due to their low intensity,” he said.
The expert said earthquakes were also recorded here in the 18th and 19th centuries; however, modern instruments were not available at that time, so their intensity was not recorded
Previously, there were forests and orchards along the fault lines, but today large areas are densely populated – a fact that Laghari says must be kept in mind when developing plans to prevent earthquake incidents.
He pointed out that the Japanese also live near fault lines, but their building practices take this natural process into account.
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“It is necessary to formulate an appropriate policy to ensure that constructions near fault lines are earthquake-resistant, or that construction and civil works meet standards capable of withstanding earthquakes,” he said.
In the middle of the current year, 57 earthquakes were recorded over a period of 23 days along the Korangi-Landhi fault line, while in 2009, around 36 earthquakes were recorded over a period of four months.
