2002 Hindu Kush earthquakes

2002 Hindu Kush earthquakes
Date March 3, 2002 (2002-03-03)
Magnitude 7.4 Mw
Depth March 3 – 226 km (140 mi)
March 25 – 8 km (5 mi)
Epicenter 36°30′N 70°29′E / 36.5°N 70.48°E / 36.5; 70.48Coordinates: 36°30′N 70°29′E / 36.5°N 70.48°E / 36.5; 70.48
Type Dip-slip
Max. intensity VII (Very strong)
Aftershocks 6.1 Mw March 25 at 14:56
Casualties March 3 – 166 dead, some injured [1]
March 25 – 1,000 dead, 200 injured [1]

The 2002 Hindu Kush earthquakes struck in northern Afghanistan during the month of March. At least 166 people were killed with a very large and intermediate-depth mainshock on March 3. Three weeks later, at least a further thousand were killed during a large, but shallow aftershock that had a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong). The M7.4 and M6.1 reverse events were focused in the Hindu Kush mountain range area.[2][3]

March 3 event

At 12:08:19 UTC a 7.4 tremor hit an area 65 km (40 mi) S of Feyzabad, Afghanistan. At least 150 people were killed, several injured and 400 houses damaged or destroyed by a landslide that dammed and flooded Surkundara Valley, Samangan Province. At least 13 people were killed at Kabul and Rostaq and 3 people killed in Bajaur, Pakistan. At least 300 houses were destroyed in Badakhshan and Takhar Provinces. A 45 meter wide fissure opened in Xiker Reservoir in Xinjiang, China. This was a deep focus event and was felt in much of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Felt also in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and India.[2]

March 25 event

At 14:56:33 UTC a 6.1 tremor hit an area 160 km (99 mi) SW of Feyzabad, Afghanistan. At least 1,000 people were killed, several hundred injured and several thousand homeless in Baghlan Province. At least 1,500 houses were destroyed or damaged at Nahrin and several hundred more in other areas of Baghlan Province. Landslides blocked many roads in the epicentral area. This was a shallow focus event and was felt strongly in much of northern Afghanistan. Also felt in the Islamabad-Peshawar area, Pakistan and at Dushanbe, Tajikistan.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS), Significant Earthquake Database, National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA, doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
  2. 1 2 USGS. "M7.4 - Hindu Kush region, Afghanistan". United States Geological Survey.
  3. 1 2 USGS. "M6.1 - Hindu Kush region, Afghanistan". United States Geological Survey.

Sources

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