A 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck Pakistan in the early hours of Sunday, according to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS). The tremor, which occurred at 00:40 IST, was recorded at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres, increasing the potential impact on the surface.
NCS posted details of the quake on social media platform X, noting the coordinates as 33.36°N latitude and 73.23°E longitude.
The quake follows another tremor on Saturday, when a 5.4-magnitude earthquake shook parts of Pakistan, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Islamabad, sparking panic among residents, as reported by ARY News.
Seismologists note that shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage due to their proximity to the surface. With a depth of just 10 kilometres, Sunday’s quake falls into this high-risk category.
Pakistan lies in one of the world’s most seismically active regions, straddling the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. Provinces like Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan are particularly vulnerable due to their location along major fault lines such as the Main Central Thrust.
Balochistan, in particular, is positioned near the active Arabian-Eurasian plate boundary, making it highly susceptible to violent quakes. Even relatively less active regions like Punjab and Sindh are not immune due to their tectonic positioning.
Pakistan has a long history of seismic disasters, with the 1945 Balochistan earthquake — measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale — remaining the strongest quake in the country’s recorded history.
With two earthquakes in less than 24 hours, authorities and residents alike remain on alert as seismic activity continues to rattle the region.
