Earthquake of magnitude 4.3 jolts Afghanistan

An earthquake of magnitude 4.3 jolted Afghanistan on Saturday, a statement by the National Center for Seismology (NCS) said.

As per the NCS, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 110 km.

In a post on X, NCS said, "EQ of M: 4.3, On: 31/05/2025 08:15:33 IST, Lat: 35.69 N, Long: 71.21 E, Depth: 110 Km, Location: Afghanistan."



Earlier on Thursday, an earthquake of magnitude 4.1 jolted Afghanistan.

As per the NCS, "EQ of M: 4.1, On: 29/05/2025 21:31:02 IST, Lat: 36.54 N, Long: 68.77 E, Depth: 139 Km, Location: Afghanistan."



On May 24, an earthquake of 4.2 magnitude jolted the region.

As per the NCS, "EQ of M: 4.2, On: 24/05/2025 19:53:10 IST, Lat: 36.68 N, Long: 71.35 E, Depth: 150 Km, Location: Afghanistan."



Another earthquake of magnitude 4.5 jolted Afghanistan on May 31. As per the NCS, the earthquake occurred at 120km.

In a post on X, the NCS said, "EQ of M: 4.5, On: 24/05/2025 14:27:53 IST, Lat: 36.60 N, Long: 71.39 E, Depth: 120 Km, Location: Afghanistan."



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.

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 under-development and have left them with little resilience to cope with multiple simultaneous shocks, UNOCHA noted.