1983 Hindu Kush earthquake

Earthquake in Afghanistan

1983 Hindu Kush earthquake

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UTC time| 1983-12-30 23:52:39
ISC event| 563957
USGS-ANSS| ComCat
Local date| December 31, 1983 (1983-12-31)
Local time| 03:52:39 PST
Magnitude| Mw 7.4 [1]
Depth| 214.5 km
Epicenter| 36°22′19″N 70°44′17″E﻿ / ﻿36.372°N 70.738°E﻿ / 36.372; 70.738
Max. intensity| VII (Very strong)
VII (Very strong)[2]
Casualties| 26 dead, 483 + "hundreds" injured[3]

The 1983 Hindu Kush earthquake occurred south of Fayzabad, Badakhshan in northeast Afghanistan at 03:52 PST on December 31, 1983, near the border with Pakistan and the USSR (now Tajikistan). Striking 214.5 km beneath the Hindu Kush mountains, the moment magnitude 7.4 quake affected three countries,[1] killing at least 26 people and injuring several hundred.[3]

## Tectonic setting[edit]

The Afghanistan-Pakistan-Tajikistan border region lies within the broad zone of ongoing crustal deformation caused by continental collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The area is seismically active, particularly as a result of faulting at just over 200 km depth within the downgoing slab, producing intraplate earthquakes. Many large greater than magnitude 7.0 have been observed in the Hindu Kush, all with similar epicenters, with an approximate periodicity of about 10–15 years. These events have reverse fault focal mechanisms, which for the near-vertical slab indicates active extension. It has been proposed that these earthquakes are a result of "necking" of the downgoing slab, a process that may eventually lead to break-off.[4]

Smaller shallow focus earthquakes are also observed in the region, particularly associated with north–south trending zones of right lateral strike-slip, such as the Chaman Fault, with an increasing degree of shortening to the north, together accommodating the highly oblique convergence between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate.[5]

## Earthquake[edit]

The most recent large event of this type was the October 2015 Hindu Kush earthquake which killed over 300 people.[6] The earthquake of 1983, together with that of 1993, 2002, and 2015 occurred in close proximity with each other. Events like these are considered an "earthquake next". The focal mechanism according to the U.S. Geological Survey indicated intermediate-depth reverse faulting.[1] The seismogenic fault beneath the Hindu Kush is thought to have produced four magnitude 7.3–7.5 earthquakes between 1949 and 2015, and two 7.0 events in 1974 and 1993. The magnitude 7.3–7.5 earthquakes had an estimated 1.2 meters, and 0.7 meters for the 7.0 earthquakes, resulting in a total displacement of 6.2 meters along the same fault through 1949 and 2015, distributed across six earthquakes. Vertical necking or stretching of the rapidly moving (10 cm/yr) downgoing slab in the vicinity of the source fault encourages a high slip rate of 9.6 cm/year. The estimated slip rate is much faster than the 1 cm/yr convergent rate at the surface.[7]

Waveform inversion using the Bayesian information criterion revealed the earthquake consisted of two subevents with the latter about 20 km away from the first subevent. The first event occurred near the hypocenter along the fault. It's estimated that the latter subevent released seven times the seismic moment of the former.[8]

### Other events[edit]

Two years after the 1983 quake, the Hindu Kush region was hit with another magnitude 7.4 quake. It struck with an epicenter 30 km southwest of the 1983 event at 98.7 km beneath the mountains. Five people died and 38 were injured in the Chitral and Swat districts of Pakistan. That quake triggered rockslides and avalanches throughout the Hindu Kush and Himalaya region. It had a maximum intensity of VIII (Severe) felt at Khorog and Qurgonteppa, USSR. The earthquake was also felt strongly at New Delhi, India.[9]

## Impact[edit]

A total of 26 people died; 12 in Kabul and Samangan, Afghanistan, and 14 at Peshawar, Pakistan. Many died or were injured when their homes collapsed during their sleep. Several hundred people were injured in Pakistan and 483 were reported in Afghanistan. Eight members of one family were injured in Lahore.[10] Damage was also reported in the USSR, now Tajikistan.[3]

## See also[edit]

* List of earthquakes in Afghanistan
* List of earthquakes in Pakistan
* List of earthquakes in Tajikistan

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c "M 7.4 - 55 km S of Jurm, Afghanistan". earthquake.usgs.gov. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
2. ^ International Seismological Centre. Event Bibliography. Thatcham, United Kingdom. [Event 563957].
3. ^ a b c "Significant Earthquake Information". ngdc.noaa.gov. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
4. ^ Zhan, Z.; Kanamori, H. (2016). "Recurring large deep earthquakes in Hindu Kush driven by a sinking slab". Geophysical Research Letters. 43 (14): 7433–7441. Bibcode:2016GeoRL..43.7433Z. doi:10.1002/2016GL069603. S2CID 31948667.
5. ^ Ambraseys, N.N.; Bilham, R. (2003). "Earthquakes in Afghanistan". Seismological Research Letters. 74 (2): 107–123. Bibcode:2003SeiRL..74..107A. doi:10.1785/gssrl.74.2.107. S2CID 130945532.
6. ^ "M 7.5 - Hindu Kush region, Afghanistan". earthquake.usgs.gov. U.S. Geological Survey. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
7. ^ Zhongwen Zhan; Hiroo Kanamori (2016). "Recurring large deep earthquakes in Hindu Kush driven by a sinking slab" (PDF). Geophysical Research Letters. 43 (14): 7433–7441. Bibcode:2016GeoRL..43.7433Z. doi:10.1002/2016GL069603. S2CID 31948667. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
8. ^ Yoshida, Shingo (1989). "Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors". Waveform Inversion Using ABIC for the Rupture Process of the 1983 Hindu Kush Earthquake. 56 (3–4): 389–405. doi:10.1016/0031-9201(89)90172-6.
9. ^ "M 7.4 - 75 km S of Jurm, Afghanistan". earthquake.usgs.gov. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
10. ^ "Pakistan quake kills 12". Vol. 127, no. 61\. Press Democrat. Associated Press. 1 January 1984. p. 13. Retrieved 15 May 2023.

* v
* t
* e

← Earthquakes in 1983 →

* 1983 Popayán (5.5, March 31)
* Coalinga (6.5, May 2)
* Noshiro (7.8, May 26) †
* Biga (6.1, July 5)
* Luzon (6.5, August 17)
* Kopaonik (5.3, September 10)
* Borah Peak (6.9, October 28)
* Erzurum (6.9, October 30) † ‡
* Heze (5.7, November 7) †
* Kaoiki (6.7, November 16)
* Chagos Archipelago (7.7, November 30)
* Hindu Kush (7.4, December 30)
* Liège (4.7, November 8)

† indicates earthquake resulting in at least 30 deaths
‡ indicates the deadliest earthquake of the year

* v
* t
* e

Earthquakes in Afghanistan

20th century|

* 1956 Baghlan
* 1983 Hindu Kush
* 1990 Hindu Kush
* 1991 Hindu Kush
* February 1998
* May 1998

21st century|

* 2002 Hindu Kush
* April 2009
* October 2009
* 2010
* 2012
* 2013 Laghman
* October 2015 Hindu Kush
* December 2015 Hindu Kush
* 2016
* January 2022
* June 2022
* September 2022
* 2023 Badakhshan
* 2023 Herat

* v
* t
* e

Earthquakes in Pakistan

Pre-20th century|

* 1555 Kashmir
* 1885 Kashmir

20th century|

* 1935 Quetta
* 1945 Balochistan
* 1974 Pattan
* 1981 Darel Valley
* 1983 Hindu Kush
* 1991 Hindu Kush
* 1992 Kohat
* 1997 Harnai

21st century|

* 2002 Hindu Kush
* 2005 Kashmir
* 2005 Hindu Kush
* 2008 Ziarat
* 2011 Dalbandin
* 2013 Saravan
* 2013 Laghman
* 2013 Balochistan
* 2014 Pakistan
* 2015 Islamabad
* October 2015 Hindu Kush
* December 2015 Hindu Kush
* 2019 Azad Kashmir
* 2021 Balochistan
* 2022 Durand Line
* March 2023

* v
* t
* e

Earthquakes in Tajikistan

* 1907 Qaratog
* 1911 Sarez
* 1949 Khait
* 1983 Hindu Kush
* 1985 Kayrakkum
* 1989 Gissar
* 1990 Hindu Kush
* 1991 Hindu Kush
* 1992 Suusamyr
* 2006 Tajikistan
* 2011 Fergana Valley
* 2015 Tajikistan
* 2015 Hindu Kush
* 2023 Badakhshan

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