October 11, 2023 Earthquake: Herat, Afghanistan

Reference #13456:

Tectonic Summary

The October 11, 2023 M 6.3 earthquake near Herat, Afghanistan, occurred as the result of thrust faulting at shallow depths near the far western terminus of the Hindu Kush mountain range. This earthquake was preceded by two M 6.3 earthquakes that occurred four days before. All three earthquakes occurred on east-west striking fault planes that dip to either the north or south. The earthquakes occurred within the Eurasia plate in an intracontinental mountain belt.

Earthquakes in Afghanistan and its surrounding regions are common due to the complex and active interactions between the Arabia, Eurasia, and India plates. Earthquakes in western and central Afghanistan are primarily influenced by the northward movement of the Arabia plate relative to the Eurasia plate. Since 1920, eight other earthquakes of magnitude 6 or larger have occurred within 250 km of the October 7 earthquake, all within Iran. These previous earthquakes included a magnitude 7.3 earthquake in May 1997 that caused 1,567 fatalities, and a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in November 1979.

Reference #13619:

After the recent 6.3 M earthquake that occurred on 11 October in Herat Province, one person died and 140 people have been injured, all in Herat City and Injil District, as reported by UN OCHA. Several villages across the Districts of Gulran, Injil and Kush sustained damage following the earthquake. In addition, following previous seismic events since 7 October, at least 2,400 people have died, several hundred are reported missing, 1,714 houses have been destroyed, and 11,066 people have been affected across four districts. According to UNITAR-UNOSAT, 15 settlements have been destroyed, three severely affected and 38 moderately affected.

Reference #13622:

resulted in three deaths and 164 injured

Reference #13624:

Preliminary assessments show that the first two earthquakes on 7 and 11 October left 1,480 people dead and 1,950 wounded.

More than half of all earthquake-affected people are in Injil, with the majority of the more than 3,330 destroyed homes assessed to date located in Zinjadin. Schools, health facilities, and other infrastructure also impacted by the earthquakes, with 21,300 buildings estimated to have sustained damage. [This damage figures appear to include all four (6.3 magnitude) earthquakes striking Herat Province between 7 and 15 October]

Reference #1250:

1 death; 140 injured

Note: the majority of deaths, injuries and damages in the NCEI database have been attributed to the event listed on 7 October