This morning, around half past midnight, Karachi was hit by minor aftershocks. Well, not Karachi, exactly, just the coastal areas such as Clifton and Defence. I guess many people would find this incentive to move further into the city since the coastal areas always feel the earthquakes. Anyhow, with all the fuss about the major earthquake, a slight tremor got people really panicked. I was attempting to get some sleep at the time when the bed started shaking. I looked up at the walls suspiciously, searching for some sign that the walls would give way, in which case, panic mode would ensue, but the tremor faded away within a second.

Immediate reaction: switch to Geo News to find out what the hell happened. Not surprisingly, Geo had people already on it and people with reassuring titles like "Professor" and "Doctor" talking about how the aftershocks experienced in Karahi a few minutes ago were just that and completely unrelated to the major quakes in the interior so residents should not panic. I recall him saying over and over "unhoun ne waada kia hai keh yeh aftershocks pareshaani ki baat nahi hai" and I realized people must be panicking like hell. Upon venturing out into the balcony, our guess was validated. A family of seven had packed up some stuff anf moved out of their apartment and were sitting in the gardens below, elders on benches, youngsters on the ground. It hit home how exactly people were going mildly hysterical, ready to grab some necessities and bolt at the slightest provocation. While strikes and terrorism activities can be safely swept under the rug in the posh areas of town, nature's great equalizers won't let anyone be complacent about the possibility of their area being hit next.