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...
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