Strong Afghanistan earthquake felt in all neighboring countries

Last update: November 7, 2011 at 1:37 pm by By

Earthquake overview : At 16:29 local Afghanistan time, Earthquake-report.com was flooded with I Have Felt It reports coming from many countries at the same time. This indicated a OR very strong dangerous earthquake OR a deep earthquake felt by many, but probably harmless. Luckily it was the latter
“I have Felt it” Reports –> see below + Let us know “how you have felt this earthquake”
To read the full story as it happened, we advise our readers to start at the lower part of the page (earthquake data).

Keep this page open or return regularly as we will be back with more details when they become available

Landscape in the epicenter area - Panoramio Image courtesy Romin Fararoon

Update : To simplify what happened, the depth can also be seen as the distance away from the location above it. Therefore deep earthquakes are felt the same way in many many locations as the waves will reach the surface with a similar strength over tens of km’s.

Update : Data as seen by other seismological agencies than USGS :
GFZ : M 5.5 @ 199 km
EMSC :   M 5.4 @ 221 km
Good signs that certainly NO damage will have been inflicted

Update : This earthquake was felt in such a wide area because of the combination of magnitude and depth

Update : nearly 7 million people will have felt a weak shaking

Update : a max. weak shaking has been felt in a very wide area

What initiated this article
Felt it Reports arrive from Pakistan
Preliminary data (not confirmed yet) are mentioning a 5.7 magnitude earthquake at very unsure depth
Light shaking is reported from Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Also from Afghanistan , Uzbekistan
Hopefully a deep earthquake ! Magnitude will be around 5.8
We are receiving a lot of I Have Felt It forms at the moment
Luckily, USGS reports a (preliminary) 5.8 earthquake at a (preliminary) depth of 219 km , which makes this earthquake harmless !

“I Have Felt It” reports as received by Earthquake-Report.com
Pakistan,Rawalpindi : i was working when i felt my chair move i looked at a hanging wire which was shaking as well
Islamabad, Pakistan : Light shaking indicated
Bagram Afghanistan : Weak shaking indicated
Bagram Afghanistan : Light shaking indicated
Uzbekistan : Light shaking indicated
Pakistan, Islamabad : Rolling motion, but only lasted a second or two. Very recognisable as an earthquake. No damage visible in my flat.
Afghanistan, Bagram Air Field : Strong enough shaking to make the container I was in move a bit.
India, Chandigarh : Light shaking of furniture in the building felt for a few seconds
Kabul, Afghanistan : Approx. 7 miles east of Kabul city center; Sitting, typing on the computer and felt a wee bit vertigo, my broken office chair was slightly swaying and saw my wooden bench/desk swaying, too. Had taken a cold medicine pill several hours before, so thought it was just my head. Reached for my water bottle, and noticed the water in it still sloshing. Ahh! Tried to move or shake my bench/desk, and found it to be solidly attached to the side of the CHU I was currently in – and I’m a pretty strong guy. Maybe a 2 or 3 Richter? Born and raised in Seattle, so I’m familiar with tremors! ;) -JB
Tashkent, Uzbekistan : Light shaking indicated

Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : 5.5
UTC Time : Monday, November 07, 2011 at 11:59:32 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Monday, November 07, 2011 at 04:29:32 PM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 219 km
Geo-location(s) :
75 km (47 miles) SE (144°) from Feyzabad, Afghanistan
111 km (69 miles) NW (313°) from Chitral, Pakistan
117 km (73 miles) SSW (201°) from Khorugh, Tajikistan

Links to important maps
USGS Did You Feel It Map
Google satellite map showing the epicenter and the surrounding area.
Historic earthquakes map
Seismic hazard map
Shaking map
Focal mechanism report
Human impact map

QuakeSOS+ and QuakeSOS free are iPhone applications developed by Armand Vervaeck, the founder of Earthquake Report. The Application simplifies immediate group communication to friends and family members (with your exact GPS location) and is feeding the users with Earthquake Report news. The 0.99 US$ QuakeSOS+ version will support the activities of SOS Earthquakes.

a

Earthquake-Report.com headlines on twitter
@OnlyQuakeNews : Get all the headlines of our earthquake-report.com articles + regular updates on ongoing events
@QuakeSOS : earthquake-report.com news + automatic earthquake notifications of USGS earthquakes of M 4.0 or higher with emphasis to earthquakes in the America’s and the Pacific Ocean sphere (4 and up) and a lot of the rest of the world (5 and up). This account was created for our QuakeSOS and QuakeSOS+ iPhone applications
@ShakingEarth : earthquake-report.com news + automatic earthquake notifications of EMSC earthquakes of M 4.0 or higher with emphasis to earthquakes in European and Asian / Middle East sphere (4 and up) and a lot of the rest of the world (5 and up). This account was originally created to stimulate our Facebook account
@QuakeMaps : earthquake-report.com news with mapping notifications of ALL earthquakes M 3.0 and higher from all over the world via EMSC and USGS. This account was created for our http://www.quake-maps.com website

I did feel it – Ik heb het gevoeld – Το έκανα αισθάνεται –Yo lo he sentido – 我的确感到了 – 私はそれを感じていました- Ich habe es gefühlt – Bunu hissediyorum yaptı – لم أشعر أنه

Country and location
?
Tell us where in which location you felt the earthquake
E-mail (only if you wish)
?
Your Email address might help us if we request for additional details about your experience. This field is NOT mandatory. It is up to you to give it or not.
?
People :
Felt by persons at rest, on upper floors or favorably placed.
?
People :
Felt indoors; hanging objects may swing, vibration similar to passing of light trucks, duration may be estimated, may not be recognized as an earthquake.
?
People :
Generally noticed indoors but not outside. Light sleepers may be awakened. Vibration may be likened to the passing of heavy traffic, or to the jolt of a heavy object falling or striking the building.
Fittings :
Doors and windows rattle. Glassware and crockery rattle. Liquids in open vessels may be slightly disturbed. Standing motorcars may rock.
Structures :
Walls and frames of buildings, and partitions and suspended ceilings in commercial buildings, may be heard to creak.
?
People :
Generally felt outside, and by almost everyone indoors. Most sleepers awakened. A few people alarmed.
Fittings :
Small unstable objects are displaced or upset. Some glassware and crockery may be broken. Hanging pictures knock against the wall. Open doors may swing. Cupboard doors secured by magnetic catches may open. Pendulum clocks stop, start, or change rate.
Structures :
Some large display windows cracked. A few earthenware toilet fixtures cracked.
?
People Felt by all. People and animals alarmed. Many run outside. Difficulty experienced in walking steadily.
Fittings :
Objects fall from shelves. Pictures fall from walls. Some furniture moved on smooth floors, some unsecured free-standing fireplaces moved. Glassware and crockery broken. Very unstable furniture overturned. Small church and school bells ring. Appliances move on bench or table tops. Filing cabinets or "easy glide" drawers may open (or shut).
Structures :
Slight damage to buildings with low standard. Some stucco or cement plaster falls. Large display windows broken. Damage to a few weak domestic chimneys, some may fall.
Environment :
Trees and bushes shake, or are heard to rustle. Loose material may be dislodged from sloping ground, e.g. existing slides, talus slopes, shingle slides.
?
People
General alarm. Difficulty experienced in standing. Noticed by motorcar drivers who may stop.
Fittings :
Large bells ring. Furniture moves on smooth floors, may move on carpeted floors. Substantial damage to fragile contents of buildings.
Structures :
Unreinforced stone and brick walls cracked. Low standard buildings cracked with some minor masonry falls. A few instances of damage to buildings of ordinary workmanship. Unbraced parapets, unbraced brick gables, and architectural ornaments fall. Roofing tiles, especially ridge tiles may be dislodged. Many unreinforced domestic chimneys damaged, often falling from roof-line. Water tanks Type I burst. A few instances of damage to brick veneers and plaster or cement-based linings. Unrestrained water cylinders (hot-water cylinders) may move and leak. Some common windows cracked. Suspended ceilings damaged.
Environment :
Water made turbid by stirred up mud. Small slides such as falls of sand and gravel banks, and small rock-falls from steep slopes and cuttings. Instances of settlement of unconsolidated or wet, or weak soils. Some fine cracks appear in sloping ground. A few instances of liquefaction (i.e. small water and sand ejections).
?
People Alarm may approach panic. Steering of motorcars greatly affected. Structures : Low standard buildings heavily damaged, some collapse. ordinary workmanship buildings damaged, some with partial collapse. Reinforced masonry or concrete buildings damaged in some cases. A few instances of damage to buildings and bridges designed and built to resist earthquakes. Monuments and pre-1976 elevated tanks and factory stacks twisted or brought down. Some pre-1965 infill masonry panels damaged. A few post-1980 brick veneers damaged. Decayed timber piles of houses damaged. Houses not secured to foundations may move. Most unreinforced domestic chimneys damaged, some below roof-line, many brought down. Environment : Cracks appear on steep slopes and in wet ground. Small to moderate slides in roadside cuttings and unsupported excavations. Small water and sand ejections and localized lateral spreading adjacent to streams, canals, lakes, etc.
?
Structures Many low standard buildings destroyed. Ordinary workmanship buildings heavily damaged, some collapse. Reinforced masonry or concrete buildings damaged, some with partial collapse. Buildings and bridges designed and built to resist earthquakes damaged in some cases, some with flexible frames seriously damaged. Damage or permanent distortion to some buildings and bridges, designed and built to normal use standards. Houses not secured to foundations shifted off. Brick veneers fall and expose frames. Environment : Cracking of ground conspicuous. Landsliding general on steep slopes. Liquefaction effects intensified and more widespread, with large lateral spreading and flow sliding adjacent to streams, canals, lakes, etc.
Write your experience and/or additional text here : ?
Please describe what you have experienced with your own words. Other languages are also accepted.

Facebook comments:

Speak Your Mind

*