The ground gave way 216.7 kilometers (134.65 miles) below the Hindu Kush on Wednesday, July 1, and that depth is the main reason early news from the area was calm. The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a magnitude 5.5 earthquake at 17:57:03 UTC, centered about 50 km southwest of Jurm in northeastern Afghanistan.
No casualties or damage had been reported when the first accounts appeared.
Quakes this deep are classed as deep-focus events. They can often be felt across a wide area, yet they generally cause less damage at the surface than shallow ones.
Second deep quake in under two weeks
This was not the first tremor of the month near Jurm. On June 22, a magnitude 5.2 quake struck about 42 kilometres south-southwest of the town, in Badakhshan province, at a depth of 207 km. Placed side by side, the two events sit in nearly the same part of the Hindu Kush.
Then came June 27. The Pakistan Meteorological Department put that quake at magnitude 5.9, with its epicenter in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan, while the USGS measured it higher, at 6.1. People ran out of their homes in panic. Shaking reached Islamabad, eastern Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir, and Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority said it also shook Kabul. No casualties or damage were reported.
A region used to shaking
Afghanistan sits along the collision zone between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, and the Hindu Kush is especially prone to deep earthquakes. People in Pakistan, India, Tajikistan and other parts of Central and South Asia can feel them too.
The region’s record is a sobering one. A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in 2005 killed tens of thousands of people in Pakistan and the Kashmir region, and Afghanistan has gone through repeated deadly quakes in recent years, with thousands of fatalities.
Wednesday’s tremor was moderate and deep. Residents who felt it can take some comfort in that. Anyone with concerns about the safety of a building or about health needs after a quake should contact local emergency services or a doctor.
