Since Sunday night, Karachi has been shaken by a series of at least 21 mild earthquakes, ranging from magnitude 2.1 to 3.6 within about 48 hours. The strongest quake (3.6) caused part of the Malir Jail wall to collapse, allowing 216 prisoners to escape.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) is urging calm, with Director General Mahr Sahibzad Khan saying the mild tremors will continue for a few days but will gradually decrease in intensity.
Despite this reassurance, some independent experts have raised concerns. Shahbaz Laghari, head of the Earthquake News & Research Centre, warned that a series of small tremors can sometimes precede a major earthquake. He predicts a potentially dangerous quake on Friday or Saturday night and called on the Sindh government to issue warnings. Laghari pointed to small fault lines in Karachi’s Korangi and Malir areas as the source of the quakes.
On the other hand, PMD officials and other experts have dismissed fears of a major quake, describing the activity as the release of seismic energy along historical fault lines, which should calm within a week.
Interestingly, neither the US Geological Survey (USGS) nor India’s National Centre for Seismology (NCS) have reported any seismic activity in Karachi since Sunday, raising questions about the accuracy or communication of local monitoring.
So the city is dealing with uncertainty — some warn of a big quake coming, while official agencies say there’s no immediate danger.
