Magnitude 4.9 Earthquake Jolts Afghanistan, NCS Reports Shallow 10km Depth, Raising Risk Of Damage

Kabul: An earthquake of 4.9 magnitude jolted Afghanistan on Sunday, a statement by the National Center for Seismology (NCS) said.

As per the NCS, the earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 10km, making it susceptible to aftershocks.

In a post on X, the NCS said, "EQ of M: 4.9, On: 30/06/2025 08:02:35 IST, Lat: 36.77 N, Long: 71.13 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Afghanistan."

Earlier on June 28, another earthquake of magnitude 4.3 struck the region at a depth of 120km.

In a post on X, the NCS said, "EQ of M: 4.3, On: 28/06/2025 20:01:13 IST, Lat: 36.37 N, Long: 71.06 E, Depth: 120 Km, Location: Afghanistan."

Shallow earthquakes like this one are more dangerous than deeper ones due to their greater energy release closer to the Earth's surface. This causes stronger ground shaking and increased damage to structures and casualties, compared to deeper earthquakes, which lose energy as they travel to the surface.

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.

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