Earthquake of magnitude 4.2 jolts Afghanistan

An earthquake of magnitude 4.2 hit Afghanistan on Monday morning, said National Center of Seismology .

This is the fourth consecutive earthquake to hit the country in the last four days.

Sharing the details in a post on X, NCS said that the earthquake occurred at a depth of 140 kiolometres at 08:54 hours (Indian Standard Time).

"EQ of M: 4.2, On: 19/05/2025 08:54:18 IST, Lat: 36.41 N, Long: 70.94 E, Depth: 140 Km, Location: Afghanistan," NCS said.

EQ of M: 4.2, On: 19/05/2025 08:54:18 IST, Lat: 36.41 N, Long: 70.94 E, Depth: 140 Km, Location: Afghanistan.
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— National Center for Seismology (@NCS_Earthquake) May 19, 2025

Earlier on Sunday, an earthquake of magnitude 4.5 had jolted Afghanistan. As per the NCS, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 150km.

EQ of M: 4.5, On: 18/05/2025 11:43:16 IST, Lat: 36.44 N, Long: 71.07 E, Depth: 150 Km, Location: Afghanistan.
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— National Center for Seismology (@NCS_Earthquake) May 18, 2025

Previously on May 17, an earthquake of magnitude 4.2 struck the region. In a post on X, the NCS said, "EQ of M: 4.2, On: 17/05/2025 16:26:34 IST, Lat: 36.37 N, Long: 69.83 E, Depth: 120 Km, Location: Afghanistan."

EQ of M: 4.2, On: 17/05/2025 16:26:34 IST, Lat: 36.37 N, Long: 69.83 E, Depth: 120 Km, Location: Afghanistan.
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— National Center for Seismology (@NCS_Earthquake) May 17, 2025

On May 16, another earthquake of magnitude 4.0 struck the region."EQ of M: 4.0, On: 16/05/2025 00:47:40 IST, Lat: 36.56 N, Long: 70.99 E, Depth: 120 Km, Location: Afghanistan."

EQ of M: 4.0, On: 16/05/2025 00:47:40 IST, Lat: 36.56 N, Long: 70.99 E, Depth: 120 Km, Location: Afghanistan.
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— National Center for Seismology (@NCS_Earthquake) May 15, 2025

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.