Newsnomics AJAY ANGELINA reporter | Since February 7, the predictions of the next massive earthquake

have been circulating on social media and the users have been sharing predictions of a potential earthquake

in India and Pakistan made by a Dutch researcher.

But Zahid Rafi, the Director of National Seismic Monitoring Center (NSMC) of Pakistan has emphatically

rejected the unwarranted predictions as “scientifically baseless” by saying earthquakes are the natural pheno

menon and "no one can know in advance when and where are they going to strike next".

“If the seismologists had known the earthquake was going to strike, there would not have been so much loss of life and property in Turkey,” said the NSMC director.

He further asserted that mild tremors are nothing new in Pakistan. “Mild quakes occur in Pakistan and will

continue to happen.”

Later, a detailed statement of the ‘Pakistan Meteo

rological Department (PMD)’ said, “the PMD was

running its own seismic monitoring network comprising 30 remote monitoring stations and

recording earthquakes occurring within and

surrounding areas every day. These quakes are of small to medium range magnitudes," while reiterating that "earthquake is a purely natural

phenomenon".

“Pakistan and neighboring countries like Iran,

Afghanistan, Tajikistan have experienced many major damaging earthquakes in the past. These are

earthquake prone countries and the PMD seismic monitoring network is recording more than 100

quakes every day.”

“The possibility of occurrence of major earthquake in Pakistan and surrounding countries is always there but when and where or timeline of happening is beyond the reach of existing technology,” the

                                                                                   PMD stated.