Earthquake in Pakistan? PMD rejects reports forecasting seismic catastrophe during Oct 1-3

As social media is abuzz with rumours claiming that a strong earthquake is likely to hit Pakistan in the next 48 hours, the Pakistan Metrological Department (PMD) has denied the reports saying that it is impossible to accurately predict an earthquake.

Netizens on social media quoted the Solar System Geometry Survey (SSGEOS) and a Dutch scientist Frank Hoogerbeets as saying that a significant surge in electric activity along the fault lines in Balochistan’s Chaman was recorded which could lead to a powerful earthquake in Pakistan.

However, the Met Office rejected the speculations, asserting that the time and place of an earthquake cannot be predicted.

The boundaries of two major tectonic plates inside the Earth pass through Pakistan which are extended from Sonmiani to the northern region of the country Pakistan, the PDM said.

The Met Office said earthquakes can occur at any point in these boundary lines.

The PMD said an earthquake of magnitude 9 to 10 had struck the Chaman fault line in 1892, while an earthquake that hit the Chiltan range in 1935 killed several thousand people.

Usually, after the passage of 100 years, there is a possibility of a recurrence of an earthquake in the same boundary line, the Met Office said in the statement.

“We have not received any kind of warning or instructions from any international organisation regarding earthquake,” it added.

The Met Office further said that the system to predict the movement of tectonic plates is not installed in Pakistan and urged the people not to pay heed to false news on social media.

Meanwhile, Seismological Centre Director Rafi Zahid said Pakistan was using Japanese technology to monitor seismic activity and added that the monitoring system was present across the country.

“Areas where earthquakes occur more often are identified through monitoring,” the expert said.

Earlier in February this year, the Dutch researcher’s prediction following a deadly earthquake in Turkey sparked rumours of potential earthquakes in Pakistan.

The experts had back then rebuffed the reports calling them unscientific.