Kabul: The National Center for Seismology (NCS) said that an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.0 rocked Afghanistan on Monday. According to the NCS, the earthquake happened 10 kilometers below the surface, rendering it vulnerable to aftershocks.

In a message to X, the NCS said, “EQ of M: 4.0, On: 10/03/2025 07:01:10 IST, Lat: 36.97 N, Long: 73.14 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Hindu Kush Region, Afghanistan.”

In contrast to deeper earthquakes, which lose energy as they approach the surface, shallow earthquakes, like this one, release more energy closer to the ground, generating more ground shaking, more damage to buildings, and more fatalities. This makes shallow earthquakes more deadly than deeper ones.

Earlier in the day, an earthquake with a Richter Scale magnitude of 4.2 rocked Pakistan, Afghanistan’s neighbor.

“EQ of M: 4.2, On: 10/03/2025 02:46:22 IST, Lat: 36.10 N, Long: 71.43 E, Depth: 170 Km, Location: Pakistan,” the NCS said in a post on X. According to NCS, an earthquake of a magnitude of 4.3 occurred in Pakistan on March 8.

“EQ of M: 4.3, On: 08/03/2025 01:40:40 IST, Lat: 30.20 N, Long: 70.03 E, Depth: 27 Km, Location: Pakistan,” according to the NCS.

Afghanistan is still very susceptible to landslides, earthquakes, and seasonal floods, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

According to UNOCHA, these frequent earthquakes in Afghanistan harm vulnerable populations who are already struggling with decades of underdevelopment and violence, making them less equipped to handle many shocks at once.

According to the Red Cross, Afghanistan has a history of strong earthquakes, and the Hindu Kush Mountain range is a geologically active region where quakes happen often.

In addition to a fault line that passes straight through Herat, Afghanistan is situated on other fault lines that connect the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.