Wednesday 16 October 2019

Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake at a depth of 203.5 km, roughly 43 km to the southwest of the village of Jarm in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan, slightly after 5.40 am local time (slightly after 1.10 am GMT) on Monday 14 October 2019. Quakes at this depth are seldom dangerous, but are often felt over a wide area, and this one was reportedly felt in Aybak in Samangan Province, roughly 200 km to the northeast of the epicentre, and Kabul roughly 300 km to the southwest.

The approximate location of the 14 October 2019 Badakhshan Earthquake. USGS.

The boundary between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates runs through northern Afghanistan. The Indian Plate is moving northward relative to the Eurasian Plate, causing folding and uplift along this boundary, which has led to the formation of the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan, the Himalayas and the other mountain ranges of Central Asia., and which makes the nations in this boundary zone prone to Earthquakes.

 Plate boundaries and movements beneath southern Pakistan, Iran and the Arabian Sea. University of Southampton.

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit organisation Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.

See also...

https://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2019/05/magnitude-44-earthquake-in-badakhshan.htmlhttps://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2019/03/flash-floods-kill-at-least-39-in.html
https://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2019/03/magnitude-45-earthquake-in-takhar.htmlhttps://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2018/04/magnitude-50-earthquake-in-badakhshan.html
https://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2017/12/collapse-at-coal-mine-kills-five-in.htmlhttps://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2017/10/magnitude-52-earthquake-in-badakhshan.html
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