LAHORE: Residents of Lahore and several nearby cities woke up to tremors on Tuesday morning as an earthquake measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale hit parts of Punjab. According to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre, the earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of just 12 kilometres beneath the surface.
The tremors were felt not only in Lahore but also in Kasur, Okara, Sheikhupura, Muridke, and Kamoke. Despite the widespread impact, there have been no reports of damage to property or loss of life, which comes as a relief to authorities and residents alike.
Videos shared on social media show people stepping out of their homes and shops, visibly shaken. Many took to platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook to share their experiences, with some reporting swaying furniture and brief panic, especially in high-rise buildings and older structures.
Pakistan’s Earthquake Vulnerability Increasing
Pakistan lies on one of the most seismically active regions in the world — where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collide. This tectonic activity makes large parts of the country, particularly in the north and west, highly vulnerable to earthquakes.
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Earthquakes are no longer rare occurrences for Pakistani cities. In fact, Tuesday’s tremor is the latest in a series of seismic events to hit the region in recent months. In May, Islamabad and several areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) — including Mardan, Swat, Nowshera, and North Waziristan — experienced a 5.3-magnitude quake. Its epicentre was deep in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan.
Prior to that, on April 12, a 5.5-magnitude earthquake rattled parts of northern Punjab, KP, and the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Just days later, another quake measuring 5.3 struck again, affecting KP, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Punjab, and some regions across the Afghan border.
The seismic wave pattern has shown increased activity this year — pointing to a worrying trend that should have authorities on alert, especially in densely populated urban centres like Lahore and Karachi.
Karachi Quakes Raise Alarms About Landhi Fault Line
Interestingly, while Punjab experiences occasional jolts, Karachi has been showing a consistent rise in micro-tremors. In June alone, residents of the port city experienced around 49 mild earthquakes, raising questions about the city’s preparedness for larger seismic events.
Chief Meteorologist Ameer Hyder Leghari attributed this rise to the activation of the long-dormant Landhi Fault Line. He assured the public that these tremors are part of a normalisation phase but admitted that the sudden activity after decades is unusual and warrants monitoring.
As Pakistan continues to face environmental challenges ranging from floods to heatwaves, the added threat of frequent earthquakes is a reminder of the urgent need for disaster preparedness. From retrofitting buildings to updating emergency protocols, experts stress that the time to act is now — before a bigger disaster strikes.
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