Why Afghanistan Faces Frequent Earthquakes
A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck near Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan early Monday, killing at least seven people and injuring around 150. This follows a major earthquake and aftershocks in late August that claimed over 2,200 lives.
Afghanistan is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes due to its location on the edge of the Eurasian tectonic plate, which interacts with the Indian plate and the Arabian plate, making it one of the world’s most seismically active regions. The northward movement of the Indian plate against the Eurasian plate is largely responsible for frequent tremors.
The eastern and northeastern regions, including heavily populated Kabul, are most at risk. Mountainous areas face additional hazards as earthquakes can trigger deadly landslides. Since 1990, at least 355 earthquakes above magnitude 5.0 have struck the country, causing an average of 560 deaths annually and $80 million in damages.
Some of Afghanistan’s deadliest quakes include a 7.5-magnitude tremor in 2015 that killed 399 people across Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, and a pair of earthquakes in 1998 that claimed over 7,000 lives. Recent years have also seen multiple deadly quakes, such as a magnitude 6 tremor in 2022 that killed 1,000 people.
Experts recommend building earthquake-resistant structures, retrofitting existing buildings, developing early warning systems, and mapping fault lines to relocate populations in high-risk areas. These measures could significantly reduce the human and economic toll of future earthquakes in Afghanistan.
