{"id":71918,"date":"2025-11-04T11:24:46","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T05:54:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=71918"},"modified":"2025-11-04T11:24:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T05:54:46","slug":"magnitude-6-3-earthquake-hits-northern-afghanistan-near-mazar-e-sharif","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/magnitude-6-3-earthquake-hits-northern-afghanistan-near-mazar-e-sharif\/","title":{"rendered":"Magnitude 6.3 Earthquake Hits Northern Afghanistan Near Mazar-e-Sharif"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Afghanistan Earthquake Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recently, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck near <\/span><b>Mazar-e-Sharif<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in northern <\/span><b>Afghanistan<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, killing <\/span><b>at least 10 people<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and injuring around <\/span><b>260<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tremor follows a series of deadly quakes in August that claimed over <\/span><b>2,200 lives<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, highlighting the region\u2019s continuing vulnerability to seismic disasters.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Geographical Location of Mazar-e-Sharif<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, lies in northern Afghanistan, close to the <\/span><b>borders with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It sits at an elevation of about 380 metres (1,250 ft) in a broad alluvial plain of the Amu Darya basin, making it a key urban and economic centre in the region.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Geophysical Characteristics<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mazar-e-Sharif lies near the <\/span><b>boundary zone between the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, an area of intense crustal compression caused by the northward movement of the Indian plate.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This collision zone creates active fault lines running through northern and northeastern Afghanistan, where seismic stress accumulates and releases through frequent earthquakes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The recent quake near Mazar-e-Sharif is linked to <\/span><b>shallow crustal faults within this convergence zone<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, where compressional forces <\/span><b>generate strike-slip<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>thrust faulting<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 common mechanisms for strong tremors in the region.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Afghanistan\u2019s High Earthquake Risk<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Afghanistan, surrounded by rugged mountain ranges, is highly prone to earthquakes, which are its deadliest natural disasters.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On average, around 560 people die each year, and annual damages exceed $80 million.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since 1990, the country has experienced over 355 earthquakes with magnitudes above 5.0, underscoring its extreme seismic vulnerability.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Afghanistan\u2019s Deadliest Earthquakes<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Afghanistan has experienced <\/span><b>around 100 damaging earthquakes since 1900<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, making it one of the world\u2019s most seismically active countries.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <\/span><b>2022<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a <\/span><b>magnitude 6 quake<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> killed <\/span><b>about 1,000 people<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <\/span><b>2023<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><b>multiple quakes in one month<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> claimed another <\/span><b>1,000 lives<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>flattened entire villages<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <\/span><b>7.5-magnitude earthquake in 2015<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> killed <\/span><b>399 people<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> across <\/span><b>Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>1998 quakes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> were the <\/span><b>deadliest<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with <\/span><b>two major shocks<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> just three months apart \u2014 the first killing <\/span><b>2,300<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the second <\/span><b>4,700<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, causing massive destruction across the north.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These events highlight Afghanistan\u2019s <\/span><b>chronic seismic vulnerability<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the <\/span><b>repeated human toll<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from major tremors.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Afghanistan Is Prone to Earthquakes<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Afghanistan lies at the junction of <\/span><b>three major tectonic plates<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 the Eurasian, Indian, and Arabian plates.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The northward movement of the Indian plate and its collision with the Eurasian plate, combined with pressure from the Arabian plate in the south, makes this one of the most seismically active regions on Earth.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The constant pushing, twisting, and grinding of these plates generates frequent and powerful earthquakes across the region.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Most High-Risk Areas<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>eastern and northeastern regions of Afghanistan<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 along borders with Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan \u2014 are most vulnerable to major tremors.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kabul, the capital, faces the highest financial losses, averaging about $17 million annually from earthquake damage.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Added Threat of Landslides<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Afghanistan\u2019s mountainous terrain, earthquakes often trigger landslides, which can bury entire villages, block vital roads, and delay rescue and relief operations, worsening the human and economic toll.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Building Earthquake Resilience in Afghanistan<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Experts recommend that <\/span><b>new buildings follow earthquake-resistant designs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>existing structures be retrofitted<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to prevent collapses during tremors.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They also stress the need for <\/span><b>better monitoring and early warning systems<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to issue <\/span><b>timely alerts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is need for <\/span><b>mapping fault lines<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> through <\/span><b>geospatial and remote sensing technologies<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to help <\/span><b>relocate vulnerable populations<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and improve disaster preparedness.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b><strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/world\/why-afghanistan-is-often-hit-by-earthquakes-magnitude-10342709\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-61915349\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">BBC<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/11\/02\/world\/asia\/afghanistan-earthquake-blue-mosque.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">NYT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck northern Afghanistan near Mazar-e-Sharif, killing 10 and injuring 260. The region lies in a highly active tectonic zone prone to frequent quakes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":71927,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[3538,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-71918","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-afghanistan-earthquake","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}