Balakot hit by 3.5-magnitude quake, marking second seismic activity in 48 hours

An earthquake measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale struck near Balakot in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday at 13:12 PST, marking the second tremor recorded in Pakistan within 48 hours.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) reported that the seismic activity originated at a depth of 11 kilometers below the surface, recorded at coordinates 34.55°N and 73.32°E.

The meteorological department said no felt reports were received from the affected area.

Just over 13 hours earlier, on November 29 at 23:46 PST, a tremor measuring 3.0 on the Richter scale struck 40 kilometers southwest of Sibi in Balochistan at a depth of 15 kilometers.

The earthquake, at coordinates 29.18°N and 67.66°E, also went unfelt by residents, according to the PMD.

Read: Mild 4.0 magnitude earthquake hits near Chitral

The back-to-back tremors are part of a pattern of increased seismic activity this month. On November 1, a moderate 4.0 magnitude earthquake struck near Chitral at a depth of 50 kilometers. No casualties or damage were reported from that incident either.

All three earthquakes occurred at depths between 10 and 50 kilometers. The depth of a quake often determines how strongly it is felt on the surface – earthquakes like the recent tremors may go unfelt by residents despite being recorded by seismographs.

Pakistan sits at the collision point of two massive tectonic plates, the Indian plate pushing northward into the Eurasian plate.

This ongoing collision, which also created the Himalayan mountain range, generates earthquakes across different regions, from areas in the north to Balochistan in the southwest.

Earthquakes occur when stress builds up along the Earth's crust due to the movement of tectonic plates. When these plates suddenly shift or collide, energy is released in the form of seismic waves that cause the ground to shake.