Earthquakes Pose a Serious Hazard in Afghanistan

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Title: Earthquakes Pose a Serious Hazard in Afghanistan
Abstract: The nation of Afghanistan is located in a geologically active part of the world where the northward-moving Indian plate is colliding with southern part of the Eurasian plate at a rate of about 1.7 inches per year (43 mm/yr) (fig. 1). This colli- sion has created the world’s highest mountains and causes slips on major faults that generate large, often devastating earth- quakes. An example is the magnitude 7.6 earthquake on October 8, 2005, in Kashmir, Pakistan, which caused more than 80,000 fatalities and left an estimated 4 million people homeless. Each year Afghanistan is struck by moderate to strong earthquakes, and every few years, a powerful earthquake causes significant damage or fatalities. As Afghanistan rebuilds follow- ing decades of war and strife, new construction and develop- ment need to be designed to accommodate the hazards posed by strong earthquakes.

License: Public Domain / USG (PD/USG); + This project constitutes a work of the United States Government and is not subject to domestic copyright protection under 17 USC § 105.

+ For more info see https://raw.githubusercontent.com/state-hiu/cybergis-licenses/master/licenses/PUBLICDOMAIN-LICENSE-RAW.txt.
Publication Date: April 1, 2007, 12:31 p.m.
Category: Geoscientific Information; information pertaining to earth sciences. Examples: geophysical features and processes, geology, minerals, sciences dealing with the composition, structure and origin of the earth s rocks, risks of earthquakes, volcanic activity, landslides, gravity information, soils, permafrost, hydrogeology, erosion
Regions: Afghanistan
Approved: No
Published: Yes
Featured: No
DOI: None
Attribution: None

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