A 4.2-magnitude earthquake struck Pakistan at 4 pm IST on Monday, according to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS). This marks the third earthquake to hit the country in recent weeks.
In a post on X, the NCS showed the tremors originated near the Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the border with Afghanistan.
This follows another 4.2-magnitude earthquake that was reported in Afghanistan earlier today at 12:35 pm.
Three earthquakes over five weeks in Pakistan
According to the NCS, a magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck late on April 30, at 9:58 pm, with its epicentre at latitude 31.08°N and longitude 68.84°E, and a depth of 50 kilometres.
Before that, on April 12, a stronger quake measuring 5.8 on the Richter Scale was recorded in Pakistan. It occurred at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres, which the NCS noted made the region more vulnerable to aftershocks.
Pakistan ranks among the world’s most seismically active regions, located by several major fault lines. This geological setup makes the country highly susceptible to frequent earthquakes.
The nation straddles the boundary between the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. Provinces such as Balochistan, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan sit on the southern edge of the Eurasian Plate, atop the Iranian Plateau. In contrast, Sindh, Punjab, and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir lie on the northwestern edge of the Indian Plate.
As these massive plates continuously converge, the resulting tectonic stress makes the region particularly prone to powerful seismic activity.
Source: Business News