We’re shocked that the powerful earthquake in the early hours of Wednesday struck Afghanistan’s Paktika province, about 44 kilometres from the south-eastern city of Khost, near the border with Pakistan, and is reported to have killed more than 1,000 people. The quake was the country’s deadliest in two decades. Afghanistan is prone to quakes, as it is located in a tectonically active region, over a number of fault lines, including the Chaman fault, the Hari Rud fault, the Central Badakhshan fault and the Darvaz fault, says the US Geological Survey.
According to media reports yesterday, heavy rain, threadbare resources and rugged terrain are hampering the rescue operations. Houses have been reduced to rubble — communication is difficult because of damage to mobile phone towers. So, what else do we know about the disaster that struck the rural, mountainous region. Over the past decade more than 7,000 people have been killed in earthquakes in the country, the UN’s Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports. There is an average of 560 deaths a year from earthquakes.
Bangladesh, a densely populated South Asian country like Afghanistan, sits at the juncture of three tectonic plates: the Indian plate to the west and southwest, the Tibet sub-plate to the north, and the Burma plate to the east. Moreover, the plate boundary between India and Myanmar passes through Bangladesh and these tectonic blocks were responsible for many earthquakes in the past, according to recent scientific research. For us, some major faults should be noted due to their potential for giving way to devastating earthquakes: Bogura Fault, Tripura Fault, Dauki Fault and Assam Fault. All of these can produce earthquakes of a magnitude of 7 to 8.5.
Another study showed that scientists have discovered new evidence of a hidden fault, which is buried under miles of river sediment. This could cause an earthquake of magnitude 8.2 to 9.0 in Bangladesh, and affect nearly 140 million people in Bangladesh, India and Myanmar. Dhaka, according to the study, is within the zone of destruction.
We need preparedness for earthquake.
