Dangerous Earthquakes in Afghanistan

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Afghanistan – 2 strong earthquakes hit a populated area! 3+ fatalities + 70 feared dead after landslide

Last update: June 11, 2012 at 3:35 pm by By

On 6/11/2012 5:02:17 AM UTC (about 09:32h local time) an earthquake of magnitude 5.4 occurred in the highly populated region of Baghlan in Afghanistan. The earthquake happened 169km from Kabul.

27 minutes later, a stronger shallower earthquake has occurred. Most people would have been out of their house by the second quake, reducing casualty potential.

Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : 1st- 5.4 Mb AND 2nd- 5.6 Mw
UTC Time : 05:02:17AM, Monday, June 11th, 2012 AND 05:29:14AM, Monday, June 11th, 2012
Local time at epicenter : 09:32:17AM, Monday, June 11th, 2012 AND 09:59:14AM, Monday, June 11th, 2012
Depth (Hypocenter) : 49km (USGS) AND 31km (USGS)
Geo-location(s) : The nearest populated places are: Yakhpaj (19km), Khoshkak (17km), Gavmordeh (8km), Wuch (14km), Daragi (14km), Pashakhana (6km), Godri (2km), Gozar-e Langar (19km), Nahrin (15km), Aqsay (20km), Saqaw (13km), Chashmeh-ye Rabat (16km), Gawmurda (16km), Larak (13km), Akakhel (20km). The closest civilian airport is Kunduz (77km).

IMPORTANT UPDATE 15:30 UTC :
– Rescuers have so far pulled two bodies of women from the rubble of the landslide in Baghlan province and expect many others were buried.
– Afghanistan officials said on Monday that some 70 people were trapped in rubble after mud houses collapsed from two strong earthquakes. Landslides typically cause many deaths from earthquakes.
– The U.N. confirmed one other death and said houses were destroyed across five districts.

IMPORTANT UPDATE 13:30 UTC :
– 3 people have been confirmed dead so far
– More than 20 houses have been buried in a landslide .
– some mud houses have been severely damaged
– Afghan SAR forces are searching the rubble to find corpses and even more survivors of the earthquake.
– Similar earthquakes in the past have also been devastating and caused a lot of fatalities
– 10 houses had been destroyed in Ishkamish district in neighbouring Takhar province. No news of injured or death from this area.

UPDATE: The earthquake has been felt III in Kabul, and III-IV in Bagram Airfield (about 120-130km from the earthquake epicenter)

UPDATE: We hope to get some confirmation from military forces in the area as to the effects of this earthquake.

UPDATE: 50 deaths and 150 injuries were seen from a 2002 earthquake occurring very close to the present epicenter with Mw5.8. Almost 1200 fatalities were also seen from the 25 March 2002 event.  (The number of fatalities in this earthquake was uncertain due to political situation in Afghanistan at the time of the earthquake. However, United Nations figures estimate approximately 1,200 fatalities in the Nahrin region with at least 100 deaths in the town of Nahrin itself. Another 7,000 people were injured and more than 20,000 were rendered homeless. Many of the injured were flown out by helicopter to the neighbouring towns of Baghlan and Pol-e Khomri.) – ASC-India.

UPDATE: The CATDAT Damaging Earthquakes Database has seen over16 damaging earthquakes within 100km of the epicenter since 1900. An earthquake in 1972 in Baghlan of Mw6.4, a destructive earthquake in north Afghanistan occurred. It destroyed approximately 7,000 houses, killing 450 and injuring 3,000 people in the Baghlan district. The shock caused serious damage and loss of life in the coal mines in the district. The earthquake was felt as far as Tashkent, Murgab and Tarbela, over an area of a radius of 520 km.

UPDATE: The earthquake was felt strongly in Baghlan Province. PAGER is indicating only a 35% chance of fatalities.

An earthquake of magnitude 5.6 occurred in the highly populated region of Baghlan in Afghanistan. The earthquake happened 173km from Kabol. The nearest populated places are: Gavmordeh (12km), Wuch (15km), Daragi (17km), Pashakhana (7km), Godri (5km), Gozar-e Langar (18km), Nahrin (17km), Safedreg (18km), Saqaw (13km), Chashmeh-ye Rabat (13km), Gawmurda (14km), Larak (10km), Akakhel (17km). The closest civilian airport is Kunduz (74km).

for more information and updates, go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2012/06/11/afghanistan-strong-earthquake-hits-populated-area/