3.3-magnitude earthquake hits Balochistan’s Panjgur

• Epicentre was about 85km north of Panjgur district.
• Some panicked residents moved outdoors as precaution.
• There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

PANJGUR: An earthquake of 3.3-magnitude hit parts of Balochistan’s Panjgur early on Wednesday with an epicentre about 85 kilometres north of the district.

The earthquake measured 3.3 in magnitude and was recorded at a depth of 12 kilometres, said the National Seismic Monitoring Centre (NSMC) of the Pakistan Meteorological Department.

It added that the epicentre was about 85 kilometres north of the district headquarters.

Residents reported feeling brief tremors, prompting some people to move outdoors as a precaution. However, authorities said there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage following the earthquake.

A moderate earthquake measuring 5.2 struck parts of Karachi and Balochistan in the wee hours on December 15, causing panic among citizens.

The NSMC said the earthquake’s epicentre was in Balochistan’s Sonmiani, with a depth of 12 kilometres and was centred about 87 kilometres from Karachi.

In Balochistan, the tremors were felt in Hub, Vinder, and Gadani.

On December 14, a 3.2-magnitude earthquake rattled Balochistan’s Sibi city and surrounding areas, with its epicentre 53 kilometres away from the city, while 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.

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 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.

Being the country’s largest province, it remains sparsely populated, making rescue and relief operations especially difficult.