Deadly earthquake with epicenter close to Jalalabad, Afghanistan - At least 27 deaths and 150 injured

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Image courtesy and copyright Almesryoon.com

Update April 25, 14:01 UTC : According to Pakistani news, the number of fatalities rises to 27. At least 150 other were injured. Much more than 300 houses collapsed. Local officials say that mostly people suffered in Laghman, Konar, Nurestan and Nangarhar provinces in eastern Afghanistan. Hundreds of cattle were killed.

Update 17:40 UTC : Rescue work will be certainly hampered by the nightly hours. We expect that the current number of injured and fatalities will probably increase when the rubble of many collapsed houses is being cleared. Keep this page open as new updates may be expected the following hours. Page refresh happens automatically.

Update 17:29 UTC : USGS has updated his earthquake data. It decreased the Magnitude from Mw5.7 at 65 km to Mw5.6 at 62 km depth. Recalculation of the different parameters has however resulted in a higher shaking expectation for the towns and villages. You can compare them with the table below. The new data are more reflecting what people have told us in their experience reports. The adapted shaking map below shows a greenish area in the Jalalabad valleys which are mainly river sediment.

Update 16:20 UTC : Reports from Xinhua Press mention 3 deaths in Kunar province. This would bring the subtotal to 25, if no double counting has occurred.

Update 15:40 UTC : The 22 people killed in Nangarhar are confirmed from Iranian sources reporting from Afghanistan. 1 killed also in Kunar as previously reported.
Many people are still believed to be under the rubble. 113 people have been injured in Nangarhar Province, and 6 injured in Kunar Province.

Update 15:10 UTC : Main concerns are for Laghman from which we have not heard much at this point. We hope that the 23 killed have included some of the flood victims, from reports, but reports of 15 killed from the earthquake alone are currently common place, with the 23 killed also being reported.

Update 14:40 UTC : As night fall creeps up on Afghanistan, there are hopes that more survivors will be found. In Kunar Province, 500 buildings have been destroyed or damaged. More are expected in Nangarhar.

Update 14:20 UTC : Landslides have been reported. It is unclear as yet, whether additional deaths have occurred due to landslides than the 23 dead due to shaking and structural collapses.

Update 13:57 UTC : The death toll has risen again to 22 dead and 119 injured.

It should be mentioned that these are just in Nangarhar. In addition in Kunar, 1 death and 1 injured was reported. It is expected that the total will rise. In addition, we haven't gained an insight yet into the possible landslide impacts.

Thus, the total is now 23 dead, 120 injured.

Update 13:30 UTC : The death toll has risen to 13 from the Afghan TV News Network.

Update 13:05 UTC : 8 people have died according to Iranian news sources.

Update 12:55 UTC : 7 dead, 76 injured.
Nangarhar province - 6 dead with 75 injured. Many homes destroyed.
Kunar province - 1 dead with 1 injured. Many homes destroyed.

Update 12:53 UTC : We also remind viewers that earthquakes such as this occur regularly and in most cases does not lead to earthquakes of larger magnitude than the earthquake we have just seen. It is important to realise that despite alarmist websites like World Earthquakes that the reality is that there is always a small chance of a large earthquake occurring but it is not possible to predict future earthquakes.

Update 12:50 UTC : 7 dead, 20 severely injured, 49 slightly injured. Much damage to walls and collapsed adobe buildings is being reported.

Update 12:45 UTC : At least 34 injured as well. The 7 deaths also includes 1 child, and was reported from local TV.

Update 12:34 UTC : Reports of 7 deaths are on TV, as well as damage to adobe houses. (Kindly reported to us by Dr. Syed Ali, Director of the Peshawar University Earthquake Engineering Center.) In addition, the following was reported:
- " We felt the earthquake, it was strong. So far no damage is reported. It was felt in large parts of country. Abbottabad and Muzaffarabad also felt the quake"

Epicenter valley (soft soil fertile river bed) - Image courtesy and copyright Gamay Yameen

Earthquake Report wants to emphasise the great work that is done by many Earthquake Engineering Centers including Peshawar in maintaining and installing tri-axial accelerometers and broad band seismometers, as well as conducting detailed studies in such earthquakes. We greatly support funding of this, as through better determination of the hypocenter, faster alerts can be made.

Update 11:28 UTC : According to weather expert Bernhard Mühr, CEDIM, Karlsruhe, Germany, according to weather forecast models: no intense widespread rain expected during next 7 days.
However, over mountain ranges some isolated showers and thunderstorms with local downpours are to be expected. The temperature forecast Jalalabad: Tmax 27°C, Tmin 15°C and similar for the next 4 days.
It is likely that the saturated soils from the past events are still saturated, and earthquake-report.com still calls this earthquake "dangerous".

Update 11:15 UTC : It is very probable that the earthquake has caused damage, as similar earthquakes in the last 110 years shown below have caused damage.

Update 11:10 UTC : Our viewers may remember the Afghan earthquake of June 2012 - http://earthquake-report.com/2012/06/11/afghanistan-strong-earthquake-hits-populated-area/ where over 70 people died as the result of a landslide from a 5.4 earthquake at 49km depth.

Update 11:00 UTC : There has been over 13 people killed in flooding in Afghanistan in the past few days, and from Afghan earthquakes, most fatalities are generally caused by landslides.
We hope to receive information soon as to the possible landslides that have occurred.

Update 10:32 UTC : The earthquake happened in the Afghanistan Province of Laghman (population 416,184) . The nearest places are Kabol, Bagh-e Mirza, and Dehmazang. The maximum altitude nearby is 4858m.

Update 10:29 UTC : The small map below shows the number of people living in a radius near the epicenter. We have to stress however that in case of intermediate or deep earthquakes the radius is less important.

Update 10:27 UTC : This earthquake has even be felt in Abu Dhabi and probably also in the UAE. Abu Dhabi is at a distance of more than 1800 km from the epicenter !

Update 10:24 UTC : On the image below you can see the soil types in the greater epicenter area. The light and dark orange areas are the most dangerous. They are the river bed areas we were talking about during another update.

Update 10:19 UTC : The epicenter of this earthquake is no further than 10 km from the Daronta dam (below Mehtar Lam). At earthquake-report.com we fear a little bit that the river bed may have increased the shaking. People in New Delhi (India) are reporting that this is by far the strongest shaking they experienced in 6 months.

Update 10:14 UTC : Buildings swayed in the Indian capital New Delhi and people ran into the street in the disputed northern region of Kashmir

Update 10:06 UTC : Pakistan Meteorological Department is reporting a Magnitude at 6.2 at 72 km depth.

Update 10:02 UTC : Nearly 3 million people are expected to have felt a light MMI IV shaking. MMI IV shaking is NOT damaging but can inflict secondary events like landslides.

Update 09:59 UTC : The maximum predicted shaking as calculated by USGS is IV (light shaking). Based on the I Have Felt Reports we are receiving, the shaking was at least perceived as stronger than the theoretical ones.

Update 09:59 UTC : Panic gripped the citizens of the jolted areas, who rushed out to the streets and other open spaces from their homes and workplaces.

Update 09:58 UTC : Due to the close distance to Jalalabad, this earthquake may well have secondary consequences like people suffering heart attacs, running away in panic etc, Jalalabad is a city with 200,000 inhabitants.

Update 09:51 UTC : The main reason why this earthquake was felt at such a big distance is the depth of the hypocenter (from 50 to 70 km reported). That way the earthquake waves are radiating over a much bigger distance.

Update 09:48 UTC : This earthquake created some panic in Kabul. The strong shaking reported may generate some damage in an area of approx. 50 km around the epicenter.

Earthquake epicenter was only 97 km from Kabul, Afghanistan !

USGS Epicenter location :
11km (7mi) S of Mehtar Lam, Afghanistan
25km (16mi) NW of Jalalabad, Afghanistan
66km (41mi) NW of Markaz-e Woluswali-ye Achin, Afghanistan
69km (43mi) NE of Hukumati Azrow, Afghanistan
96km (60mi) E of Kabul, Afghanistan

97 km E of Kabul, Afghanistan / pop: 3,043,532
7 km S of Mehtar Lām, Afghanistan / pop: 17,345

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 5.5

Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2013-04-24 13:55:30

GMT/UTC Time : 2013-04-24 09:25:30

Depth (Hypocenter) : 67 km

Depth and Magnitude updates in the list below.

Share your earthquake experience (I Have Felt It) with our readers.
Click on the "I Felt It" button behind the corresponding earthquake. Your earthquake experience is not only important for science, but also for people in the area as well as our global readership.

					Refresh this list
SRC	Location	UTC Date/time	M	D	INFO
USGS	Hindu Kush Region, Afghanistan	Apr 24 09:25	5.6	62	MAP
Haska meena ningharhar - Weak shaking
EMSC	Hindu Kush Region, Afghanistan	Apr 24 09:25	5.5	60	MAP
Daranda Dam - Large bang, shook for about 60 seconds, some items fell off shelves, no structural damage, to our buildings Mehtar Lam - Building was shaking. Sounded and felt like a helicopter landing outside.
GEOFON	Southeastern Afghanistan	Apr 24 09:25	5.5	67	MAP I Felt It INFO
Bagram, Afghanistan - Floor movement, shaking in windows, movement in water, lasted approx 30 sec islamabad - I felt earthquake a couple of minutes back, while i was working on my laptop. it was strong. i wish everyone is safe. Charikar, Afghanistan - 24APR13, 1400hrs, the building started shaking a little and then became strong until the building and its contents were moving back and forth. Strongest one here in over a year. JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN - It lasted for appox. 30 sec. and there was strong shaking Islamabad - Desk shaking, 10 seconds or so kabul - 15 seconds, starting slowly then getting stronger with noise Islamabad, Pakistan - tvs standing shaking, beds shaking Islamabad - My bed was shaking for quite some time.. Just a seven minutes back Khyber Pass - My equipment fell from shelves, it lasted from 1-2 minutes at my location. No injuries or casualties. Jalalabad, Afghanistan - Originally from Calif.., I am some what used to big quakes. This was a strong quake probably centered closer to Pakistan. No doubt, there will be damage reports soon. I would think this was a 6 to 6.5. Some workers are reporting moderate damage from homes located outside the main city. Kabul - Light shaking. Lasted 30 sec or so. Kabul - Felt it in two waves...second wave knocking items off shelves. Kabul - Knocked some books over on the shelf, lasted roughly 22 sec with some lighter shaking after that Islamabad - I felt a little bit of shaking in Islamabad while I was at work. We evacuated the building and others stated they felt moderate shaking, but it was for a very brief time. . .no more than a few seconds. I hope that everyone's ok!! kabul - Felt strong shaking for about 6 seconds followed by shortly with aftershocks. Kabul - About 13:50 local time (Kabul) Kabul - I'm in the ofice in front of the computer. all the ofice building shaking. and I feel the noise and push to the down to up. Islamabad - At around 2:38 pm (Pakistan time). Chair shaking Bagram - Noticeable shaking for about 30 seconds Jalalabad, Afghanistan - Strong Shaking, television fell off wall. Hardened buildings cracked. Khyber Pass, Afghanistan - Stuff fell off, hut was shaking, sandbags move, no casualties or injuries. Kabul - Sitting in a chair outside felt very solid rolling Kabul, Afghanistan - Strong skaking that shook the whole building two to three times within a few seconds of each other(Baharistan area of Kabul City near Karte Parwan) Kabul - Felt both quakes, in a reenforeced concrete building, minor shaking lasting a few seconds. Phone reports of quake felt at Bagram Air Field. Bagram - Started off very light and strengthened over 30 seconds. Islamabad - Felt scary shakes on 4th floor at office building near margalla hills. Kabul - Some light shaking, moderate strength in Kabul. Windows shaking, ground movement. no damage, no items falling. Islamabad - Above 6 Earthquake In Pakistan Kabul - Felt light shaking for about 5 secs and then hard shaking for a couple more seconds. It was enough to knock things off shelves. Do damage reported yet. Jalalabad - Building was moving, reports of pictures falling off the wall, lastest about 30 seconds to a one minute Kabul - Shook the armored car and other cars sitting at the checkpoint. Kabul - It was strong. kabul - Experienced light shaking rattled file cabinets Kabul - I was very scared Kabul - Two rounds of shaking lasting less than a minute. Jalalabad Airport - Small shaking at first, slowed a bit then hit hard with items falling off shelves. Lasted approx. 20-25 sec. Kabul - There were two shocks, of which the second was the strongest. The biggest earthquake here in two and a half years. People ran out of the townhall, the strength of the building was tested. Kabul - Our Shanty office shook for about 30 seconds. Nothing fell off the shelves Kabul - Lasted for about 15 seconds, began weak and intensified drastically for about 3 Seconds. Knocked some plaster off the wall Bagram Afghanistan - Lasted 30-60 seconds, movement was felt inside buildings. Not quite strong enough to topple anything off my shelves, but almost! Islamabad - Severe shaking Kabul - Light to moderate shaking. My co-worker was alarmed. Kabul - Shook enough to make the windows and door frame cringe! jalalabad - whole building was shaking Asadabad, Kunar - Lasted 5 or 6 seconds. Longer than usual. Kabul - strong shaking, we were at 2 floor. Islamabad - Scary , Feeling scary , on 3rd floor , near Margla Hills Jalalabad - stuff falling off shelves and walls, computer tipped over, furniture sliding back and forth. Lahore - it lasted for at least 30 seconds Jalalabad - I was talking by phone and sat in front of my computer in my office in one floor building,suddenly crackle crashes sound heard with strong shaking thought one floor building is destroying this time. Dr. Matiullah Zahiree Peshawa magnitude 6.2 here - i was using my pc and felt some one is shaking my chair Kabul - Shook hard enough to create a rumble noise. Still feeling tremors @1420 local time. J-Bad - small item knocked off shelves. 20-30 seconds total Bagram - Started lightly then became stronger for about 30 secs. Chair moved and cabniets shook Tarbela - Im a seismologist by profession....i was sitting with my back against the wall and i could feel the wall shaking sideways against my back...the shaking continued for atleast 10 seconds. Qargha - two waves, the first was stronger Jaipur - sitting on 8th floor felt the shake for 3-5 seconds. Amritsar, India - Felt a very weak shaking while sitting at my office desk in Amritsar, Punjab, India. Islamabad - I was smoking outside and when i came back in the receptionist said there was an earthquake. not many people in our office felt it but it was on the news. Bagram AB - It felt like King Kong was standing on my building Noida,India - i felt it for more than 10-15 seconds...my head was shaking alot and i felt that its Earthquake..I was sitting on 5th Floor of my office in Noida,India islamabad - strong enough Islamabad - Felt in the office, national staff were mpore concerned than expats , some people left the building Srinagar, Kashmir - Shaking Bed........Oh God Save us Lahore, Pakistan - Time: 1445 PST i.e. (GMT + 0500) -- I was sitting on 4th floor in my office. Felt light shocks and upon concentrating a little I realized that YES it was an earthquake and everybody on the floor moved towards safety. The desk items and other decorative (pots, pictures, sceneries) were shaking. Kabul - It started slowly but the end was very strong but short Delhi - Very minor shaking observed. waves in water & shaking of desktop. Srinagar india - - I felt it for 5-6 seconds at 2:59 p.m. Kabul - Tremor not strong enough to shake books from shelves or make items fall over. Office was evacuated, staff allowed to return a few minutes later Kabul - It was light at first and then got stronger, I was using a shared toilet while earthquake occurred. From one side I was really scared and from another side we I saw every one was holding their belts running out of toilet it was really funny. I experienced fear and fun both simultaneously. Bagram - Building shook for a good 30 seconds or more Panchkula - I felt moderate shaking while sitting in office for about 6-7 seconds @ around 2:55 pm today... Kabul, Afghanistan - Lasted for several seconds and had a couple of jarring shakes. Gurgaon - Strong shaking for a considerable time Abu Dhabi - Very weak shaking Kabul - I felt a very strong earthquake in my whole life. Kabul - I felt like the entire 38 story building where I was living at the 25th floor was going to collapse. I have seen many earthquakes but, not any to this magnitude. Hope every is safe. Kabul1 - This was the strongest one this year so far. The last few seconds were the most strong, and we collectively decided to grab our bags and leave, but then it stopped. Nothing fell off the walls. I was in the basement of a building and colleagues upstairs say it was stronger especially on the third floor. Kabul, Afghanistan - Light, but very noticeable shaking. Ceiling creaked. Furniture did not move or rattle. Lasted ca. 30 secs. Maybe lighter aftershocks following within a few seconds. Kabul, Afghanistan - it was shaking... Peshawar - I got calls from many friends. Kabul - 2 waves, 1st light 2nd strong ......had to leave my office room and run for a safe place.. Gurgaon - Very Slight Shaking! Dubai - it was mild

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Shaking Strength *
MMI II (Very weak shaking)	? People : Felt by persons at rest, on upper floors or favorably placed.
MMI III (Weak shaking)	? 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.
MMI IV (Light shaking)	? 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.
MMI V (Moderate shaking)	? 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.
MMI VI (Strong shaking)	? 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.
MMI VII (Very strong shaking)	? 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).
MMI VIII (Severe shaking)	? 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.
MMI IX (Violent shaking)	? 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.
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Deadly earthquake with epicenter close to Jalalabad, Afghanistan - At least 27 deaths and 150 injured

Other earlier earthquakes in the greater epicenter area (since 2012)

Strongest earthquakes Magnitude 3.5 or more within a 150 km radius from this earthquake (max. 60)