The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) is actively responding to a recent prediction made by Dutch scientist Frank Hoogerbeets, who has once again raised concerns about a potential earthquake in Pakistan. Hoogerbeets gained notoriety earlier this year for his claims of accurately predicting earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Subsequently, he made similar predictions for Pakistan and India, although these regions remained unaffected by seismic activities. Now, Hoogerbeets is back in the spotlight, forecasting a strong earthquake in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
On October 1, a viral alert circulated by the Solar System Geometry Survey (SSGEOS), a Netherlands-based organization known for its seismic predictions, indicated that both countries could face a major earthquake within the next 48 hours. Hoogerbeets based his latest prediction on a significant surge in electric activity along the Chaman fault lines, triggering concerns of an imminent seismic event.
Local news outlets have amplified the prediction, sensationalizing the possibility of strong tremors in the near future, causing fear and anxiety among the populace. Despite these alarming forecasts, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) is urging citizens to remain calm.
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Shahzada Adnan, Deputy Director of the PMD, emphasized that predicting earthquakes on a global scale is scientifically impossible. He further stated that such predictions lack a scientific foundation.
Hoogerbeets and organizations like SSGEOS have faced criticism from modern scientists for their unverified and unscientific methodologies. Earlier this year, in response to Hoogerbeets’ claims, Diego Melgar, an Associate Professor of geophysics at the University of Oregon, referred to such predictions as “snake oil” and criticized them as baseless. Additionally, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), a renowned science and engineering institute, has unequivocally stated that predicting the exact time, location, and magnitude of an earthquake is currently beyond the realm of scientific possibility.
