M 5.9 - CENTRAL AFGHANISTAN

Summary

Population Exposure

 Population per ˜1 square km from Landscan 2005

Selected City Exposure

MMI	City	Population
V	Hokumati Azraw	12k
V	Baraki Barak	22k
V	Gardez	103k
V	Kabul	3043k
V	Khost	96k
IV	Paghman	49k
IV	Jalalabad	200k
IV	Mehtar Lam	17k
IV	Achin	15k
IV	Bannu	49k
IV	Doaba	8k

Shaking Intensity

    MMI

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist. A magnitude 5.9 earthquake 351 km Northeast of this one struck Afghanistan-Tajikistan on February 04, 1998 (UTC), with estimated population exposures of 3,000 at intensity VIII and 17,000 at intensity VII, resulting in an estimated 2,323 fatalities. On October 08, 2005 (UTC), a magnitude 7.6 earthquake 382 km Northeast of this one struck Kashmir, Pakistan, with estimated population exposures of 280,000 at intensity IX or greater and 825,000 at intensity VIII, resulting in an estimated 87,351 fatalities. Recent earthquakes in this area have caused, landslides and liquefaction that may have contributed to losses.

PAGER results are generally available on the Internet within 30 minutes of the earthquake's occurrence. However, information on the extent of shaking will be uncertain in the minutes and hours following an earthquake and typically improves as additional sensor data and reported intensities are acquired and incorporated into models of the earthquake's source. Users of PAGER exposure estimates should account for uncertainty and always seek the most current PAGER release for any earthquake.

Maps

Map of MMI contours plotted over population per ˜1 square km (see gray scale bar on top of map). The regions of integer MMI values are separated by the thick contour lines and labeled with Roman numerals. The total population exposure to a given MMI value is obtained by summing the population between the thick contour lines. This total is shown in population exposure table.

Map of shaking intensity. This map shows the estimated MMI as a continuous color scale. The ground shaking estimates can be obtained from http://earthquake.usgs.gov/shakemap/global/shake/2008xub7.

Exposure

Table showing population exposed to different estimated Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) levels and the possible damage at different intensity levels for resistant and vulnerable structures. MMI describes the severity of an earthquake in terms of its effect on humans and structures and is a rough measure of the amount of shaking at a given location. Unlike earthquake magnitude, intensity varies with distance from the fault, and is influenced by the depth of the earthquake and the types of soils in the shaken region. Population outside the map bounds are not included in the totals.

Downloads

• 
  onePAGER PDF
  282 kB
• 
  Exposure XML
  8 kB
• 
  Shakemap
  26 kB
• 
  Population Map
  101 kB
• 
  Population PDF
  200 kB

Details