Back-to-Back Earthquakes Jolt Afghanistan: Two Quakes Hit Hours Apart, Near 180km Depth

Afghanistan experienced two earthquakes on Friday, according to the National Center for Seismology (NCS). The first tremor, measuring magnitude 4.3, struck at a depth of 170 km earlier in the day. Later, a magnitude 4.1 earthquake occurred at a depth of 178 km. 

According to the NCS X post, the 4.3- magnitude quake hit at 12:59 pm IST at coordinates 36.40 N, 70.52 E, while the 4.1- magnitude tremor struck at 9:33 pm IST at 36.45 N, 70.99 E. 

Mazar-i-Sharif Hit by Deadly 6.3-Magnitude Earthquake

On November 4, a powerful earthquake rattled northern Afghanistan, killing at least 27 people and injuring 956 more, according to Sharafat Zaman Amar, the spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health. The tremor also damaged one of the country’s most beautiful mosques, CNN reported.

Families were jolted awake when the 6.3-magnitude quake struck near Mazar-i-Sharif, one of the most populated cities in the north of the country, at a shallow depth of 28 kilometers (17.4 miles), the United States Geological Survey said, as per CNN.

Why Afghanistan Faces Constant Earthquake Threats

Afghanistan has a history of powerful earthquakes, and the Hindu Kush Mountain range is a geologically active area where quakes occur every year, according to the Red Cross.

Afghanistan sits on numerous fault lines between the Indian and the Eurasian tectonic plates, with a fault line also running directly through Herat. Its location on several active fault lines along the collision zone between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates makes it a seismically active region. These plates meet and collide, causing frequent seismic activity.

Decades of Conflict Worsen Afghanistan’s Disaster Risks

As per the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Afghanistan remains highly vulnerable to natural disasters, including seasonal flooding, landslides, and earthquakes.

These frequent earthquakes in Afghanistan cause damage to vulnerable communities, which are already grappling with decades of conflict and underdevelopment, and have left them with little resilience to cope with multiple simultaneous shocks, UNOCHA noted. 

(Inputs from ANI)