Why is Afghanistan Prone to Earthquakes?

Earthquake in Afghanistan

• Context (BBC | IE | TH): Powerful earthquakes in Afghanistan claimed thousands of lives.

Why is Afghanistan Prone to Earthquakes?

Location in Alpide Belt (or Alpine-Himalayan Orogenic Belt)

• Afghanistan is earthquake-prone as it is located in the Hindu Kush region, part of the Alpide belt.
• The Alpide belt is the second most seismically active region globally, after the circum-Pacific belt.
• It is a young mountain belt that runs from the Atlantic to the Himalayas.
• The Alpide belt formed when the Tethys Ocean closed due to the collision of the African, Arabian, and Indian Plates with the Eurasian Plate.
• The collision of the plates along the convergent plate boundary results in frequent seismic activities.

Faultlines

• A faultline is a line on a rock surface or the ground that traces a geological fault.
• A fault is a fracture in the Earth’s crust where two blocks of rock moves relative to each other.
• If the rock blocks move rapidly, it releases energy which causes earthquakes.
• One of the factors due to which fault occurs is plate collision.
• Afghanistan is located on top of a number of fault lines where the Indian and Eurasian plates meet.

For details on Earthquake and Plate Tectonics > PMF IAS Physical Geography