NEHRP Clearinghouse

Title
Preliminary Earthquake Hazard Map of Afghanistan.
File
PB2007112129.pdf
Author(s)
Boyd, O. S.; Mueller, C. S.; Rukstales, K. S.
Source
January 2007, 29 p.
Identifying Number(s)
USGS-OFR-2007-1137
Abstract
The history of destructive earthquakes in Afghanistan spans more than four thousand years. Earthquakes have killed more than 7,000 Afghans in the last 10 years, including the Nahrin earthquake in May 1998 that killed an estimated 4,000 people. We expect that future large earthquakes, driven by ongoing active geologic processes in the region, will occur close to population centers and lifelines, with a consequent risk for greater casualties and damage. The seismic hazard must be considered in the siting, construction, and restoration of communities and facilities in Afghanistan.Large earthquakes can devastate unreinforced brick and stone buildings and trigger large landslides in mountainous terrain. In 2005, the M7.6 Kashmir earthquake in Pakistan killed more than 85,000 people, injured more than 69,000, and destroyed entire towns and villages; reconstruction efforts are ongoing as we write this report. This earthquake serves as a cautionary analog for what could happen in Afghanistan in terms of magnitude, strong ground shaking, damage to structures, and landslides. Improved construction standards and techniques, guided by scientific estimates of the seismic hazard, could significantly reduce the loss of life and property.
Keywords
; Geologic processes; Seismic hazard; Afghanistan; Construction standards; Landslides; Population centers; Earthquakes