Kabul, December 9 (ANI): India’s National Center for Seismology (NCS) reported two earthquakes in Afghanistan on Tuesday. A 3.8-magnitude quake occurred at 14:36:02 IST at a depth of 70 km (Lat: 35.87 N, Long: 69.41 E).
Earlier, at 13:17:35 IST, a stronger 4.5-magnitude quake struck at a shallow depth of 10 km (Lat: 34.53 N, Long: 70.54 E). Shallow earthquakes like this are generally more hazardous because their seismic waves have less distance to attenuate before reaching the surface, producing stronger ground shaking and increasing the potential for damage and casualties.
Afghanistan lies within a seismically active zone along the collision boundary of the Indian and Eurasian plates. The Hindu Kush region, in particular, is tectonically active and experiences frequent earthquakes. On November 4, a powerful 6.3-magnitude quake near Mazar-i-Sharif killed at least 27 people and injured hundreds, damaging buildings including a historic mosque; that tremor struck at a shallow depth of about 28 km, according to the US Geological Survey.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) warns that Afghanistan remains highly vulnerable to natural hazards — including earthquakes, seasonal floods and landslides — and that recurring seismic events exacerbate risks for communities already weakened by decades of conflict and underdevelopment, leaving limited resilience to cope with multiple simultaneous shocks.
(ANI)
