Why do earthquakes occur frequently in Afghanistan?

Arabia Weather - Afghanistan is located in an area known as the Himalayan mountain belt , an area where the connection of two tectonic plates extends: the Indian plate in the south and the Eurasian plate in the north. It is also called the Alpine belt , and it is considered an area exposed to frequent earthquakes.

During the month of October 2023 alone , the Herat region in Afghanistan was exposed to four earthquakes with a magnitude estimated at approximately 6 on the Richter scale, and these seismic events caused the loss of many lives, with the death toll reaching thousands of deaths.

In June 2022 , the Afghan region of Khost, located east of Herat, was hit by an earthquake that killed at least 920 people. It is noted that the Khost region has already witnessed about 50 earthquakes during the previous five years according to reports from the US Geological Survey.

Afghanistan is one of the countries that is regularly exposed to strong and recurring earthquakes. These earthquakes cause major destruction to infrastructure and greatly affect the lives of residents. To understand the reason for the recurrence of these earthquakes in Afghanistan, several geological and geophysical factors must be considered.

The effect of tectonic plates on seismic activity in Afghanistan

The Earth's crust consists of a group of tectonic plates, where three of these plates, the Arab, Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates , converge in the Afghanistan region along the well-known Alpine belt. The length of the Alpine belt is about 15,000 kilometers , and extends from southern Eurasia through the Himalayas to the ocean. Atlantic.

The movement of these plates depends on the presence of a solid Earth's crust that floats on layers of fluids and partially molten rocks. They move when magma bubbles rise from the ground. These movements occur along plate boundaries, or in areas called fault lines, and these movements may cause tremors. On the surface of the Earth, or in its depths, or even in the oceans.

When an underwater earthquake occurs, it can result in the formation of massive marine tsunami waves, which propagate at tremendous speed towards the coasts; Which could cause major destruction and dangerous floods.

In the case of Afghanistan , these natural movements in the Earth's crust may be greatly influential. The infrastructure is weak in these areas and the population lives in remote mountain villages, which makes relief and emergency efforts difficult and the challenges of responding to these earthquakes are great.

What is the best way to protect people from earthquakes?

According to Fabrice Cotton , a professor specializing in seismology at the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ), seismic activity always continues; Because the Earth's plates are still moving, and given the fact that the planet's core is still hot, predicting earthquakes remains a difficult task.

However, it can be predicted that large earthquakes will always trigger aftershocks when plates collect at the epicenter. So, Cotton stresses , "the only way to protect people from earthquakes is to build earthquake-resistant buildings," as even small aftershocks are possible. It can cause significant damage and buildings that appear to have sustained minor damage in the first earthquake may later collapse due to weaker aftershocks.

Also know:

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The Afghanistan earthquake kills 120 people and leaves 1,000 injured

After the October 7 earthquake in Afghanistan, survivors suffer from the cold

Sources:

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