Earthquake of magnitude 4.0 hits Pakistan

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 28 (ANI): An earthquake of magnitude 4.0 hit Pakistan in the early hours of Monday, as reported by the National Centre for Seismology (NCS).

According to the NCS, the earthquake took place at 02:06 AM IST (Indian Standard Time) at a depth of 10 kilometres.

The location was Latitude 33.46 N and 71.19 E.


NCS reported that it was recorded 173 kilometres west of Islamabad.

Shallow earthquakes are generally more dangerous than deep earthquakes. This is because the seismic waves from shallow earthquakes have a shorter distance to travel to the surface, resulting in stronger ground shaking and potentially more damage to structures and greater casualties.

Pakistan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, being crossed by several major faults. As a result, earthquakes in Pakistan often occur and are destructive.

Pakistan geologically overlaps both the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. Balochistan, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan provinces lie on the southern edge of the Eurasian plate on the Iranian Plateau.

Sindh, Punjab and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir provinces lie on the northwestern edge of the Indian plate in South Asia. Hence, this region is prone to violent earthquakes as the two tectonic plates collide.