- Title
- Earthquakes in Afghanistan
- Abstract
- "We summarize the written history of earthquakes in Afghanistan from 734 AD to the present in the form of a new catalog of more than 1300 earthquakes, and narrative accounts of damage sustained during 47 of the more significant events (see electronic supplement). Afghanistan is among those regions where written records of historical earthquakes are sparse, and where contemporary publications provide circumstantial, telegraphic and occasionally misleading information. Early annals of the region from travelers’ accounts and the narratives of explorers contain macroseismic information that is often of more utility than is available in records from the last half-century. Even in the 19th and early 20th century, communications have remained poor due to the skeletal development of roads, phone lines and government infrastructures, resulting in few published notices about earthquake locations and damage. Newspapers were unavailable until the first quarter of the 20th century and contain news mostly from the Kabul area. For earthquakes before 1900 we estimate a surface-wave magnitude based on felt area and perceived intensity of damage, and for recent earthquakes we establish a relation between surface wave magnitude and seismic moment. Using this relation we assign moment-magnitudes to earthquakes throughout the entire catalog, thereby permitting estimates of cumulative-moment released throughout the past 1200 years. The early catalog is incomplete particularly in the SE and SW margins of Afghanistan, yet in most regions it has value in forming a basis for evaluating seismic hazards in the region. We recognize regions that are currently seismically quiet but where earthquakes have occurred historically, and aseismic regions elsewhere where the historical record is probably complete, but where earthquakes may be anticipated from their tectonic setting. Afghanistan’s boundaries with the Lut Block in the west, and with the Indian Plate in the east, are defined by earthquakes with magnitudes M≤7.7, and outline a promontory of the Eurasian plate driving towards the Arabian plate at 3-4 cm/yr. Central Afghanistan is largely aseismic and appears to move as part of the Eurasian Plate. Special difficulties arise in the historic record in distinguishing between shallow moderate earthquakes that occur within a few minutes to days of deep earthquakes beneath the Hindu Kush, and in southern Afghanistan."
- Publication Date
- Dec. 1, 2003, 1:33 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
- Responsible
- andy
- Maintenance Frequency
- There Are No Plans To Update The Data
- Language
- English
- Supplemental Information
- No information provided
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