Strong M6.5 Earthquake hit near Fayzabad in Afghanistan on Tuesday Evening.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on March 21st, 2023. Last updated May 20th, 2023.

Under land 73 kilometer from Fayzabad in Afghanistan, a strong Magnitude 6.5 earthquake occurred in the evening of Tuesday March 21st, 2023. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 13 million people. Tajikistan and Pakistan are also near its epicenter.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Afghanistan, 73 kilometer (45 mi) south-southeast of Fayzabad in Badakhshan. The center of this earthquake had an intermediate depth of 192 km.

Date and Time:	Mar 21, 2023 21:47 (Dushanbe Time) - Mar 21, 2023 16:47 Universal Time.
Location:	73 km SSE of Fayzabad, Badakhshan, Afghanistan. Coordinates 36°31'23"N 70°56'35"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.5 Detected by 30 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.057 .
Depth:	192 km (119 mi) An intermediate depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While a very strong earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

At least 10 people killed, 80 injured and 665 houses damaged across 9 provinces in Afghanistan. At least 9 people killed, 99 injured, 169 houses and 22 public buildings damaged and power outages occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Two people injured at Punjab. Landslides blocked roads near Kalam and Kohistan. One person injured by a collapsed house at Punch, some houses damaged at Rajaori and Srinagar and minor damage to high-rise buildings in Delhi, India. One home damaged at Rudaki, Tajikistan and walls cracked in a high-rise building at Shymkent, Kazakhstan. Shaking felt over an area 1,000 km wide.

Based on scientific estimates by the USGS, the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 13 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 13 million people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

An estimated 42,110 people were exposed to level V. At this level, moderate shaking and very light damage can be expected. The majority of people (roughly 13 million) live in an area exposed to level IV, where light shaking and likely no damage is expected.

People in 3 countries have been exposed to shaking. In Pakistan , around 5.6 million people, with impact levels up to V (moderate shaking, very light damage). Roughly 5.5 million people were exposed to shaking in Afghanistan . In Tajikistan , around 2.2 million people.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake struck within proximity of multiple countries. Tajikistan , Afghanistan and Pakistan are all within 300km distance of its epicenter. Futher away, this earthquake may also have been felt in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, India and Turkmenistan.

Located 64 kilometer (40 mi) west-southwest of the epicenter of this earthquake, Ishqoshim (Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Ishqoshim is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Kabul is located 274 km to the southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Rawalpindi is located 378 km to the south-southeast (intensity unknown, possibly low). Peshawar is located 286 km to the south-southeast (intensity unknown, possibly low).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is V.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 562 people in 9 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 562 people have reported shaking in 189 places in 9 countries (Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan: 68 people.
• Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan: 60 people.
• Peshawar, North-West Frontier, Pakistan: 26 people.
• Islamabad, Federal Capital Area, Pakistan: 26 people.
• Gurgaon, Haryana, India: 18 people.
• Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India: 14 people.
• Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India: 13 people.
• Tashkent, Taschkent, Uzbekistan: 13 people.
• Kāhna, Punjab, Pakistan: 10 people.
• Srīnagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India: 10 people.

Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 1 smaller aftershock was detected. At a distance of 30 km (19 mi) south-east of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 2 days later. It measured a magnitude of 4.3

In the days before this main shock, 3 smaller foreshocks were detected. A 4.2 magnitude earthquake hit 9 hrs earlier nearby.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

Earthquakes like this are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since February 23rd, 2023, when a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit 265 km (164 mi) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck on October 26th, 2015.

In total, 4 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.5 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 3 years.

Tsunami very unlikely

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit inland, more than 100 km away from coastal areas. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk at a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 20/05/23 10:57 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000jln7
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20230321_0000204
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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