Monday 6 May 2019

Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake in eastern Kyrgyzstan.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km, 66 km to the southeast of the city of Karakol in the Issyk-Kul Region of eastern Kyrgyzstan, slightly before 12.55 pm local time (slightly before 6.55 am GMT) on Sunday 5 May 2019. There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event, but it may have been felt locally.

The approximate location of the 5 May 2019 Kyrgyzstan Earthquake. USGS.

The quake occurred on the northern fringes of the Dzungarian Alatau Mountains, which form the border between Kyrgyzstan, Khazakhstan and China, and form part of the greater  Tian Shan range. The Tian Shan are part of the Himalayan Orogenic Belt, mountains in Central Asia pushed upwards by the collision of India and Asia. The Indian Plate is currently pushing into the Eurasian Plate from the south at a rate of 3 cm per year. Since both are continental plates, which do not subduct, the Eurasian Plate is folding and buckling, causing uplift in the Himalayas and other mountains of Central Asia.
 
 The movement of India relative to Asia, and the blocks within the eastern part if the Eurasian Plate. University of Wollongong.
 
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/2018/09/magnitude-47-earthquake-in.htmlhttps://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2017/04/landslide-kills-24-in-osh-region-of.html
 
https://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/11/magnitude-48-earthquake-in-southwest.htmlhttps://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2011/07/earthquake-on-kyrgyzstanuzbekistan.html
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