Why are earthquakes so deadly in some countries and not others?


Daniel Bardsley
  • English
  • Arabic

Wednesday’s 5.9-magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan has, along with aftershocks, killed more than 1,000 people, making it the deadliest event of its kind in the country in two decades.

Poor infrastructure and services made dealing with the tragedy particularly difficult for the country’s Taliban authorities, who have appealed for international assistance.

A few days before the earthquake in Afghanistan, the UAE experienced a much smaller event, a 2.4-magnitude quake in Sharjah.

As reported by The National, the June 18 quake — which officials said was not felt by residents — is the latest in a series of infrequent and mostly small tremors felt in the UAE.

So why is Afghanistan — along with neighbours such as Pakistan — vulnerable to deadlier earthquakes?

How are earthquakes classified and what damage can they cause?

A key measure is the magnitude of the quake, which reflects the size of the waves the event produces.

The Richter scale classifies quakes between 1.0 and 2.9 as “micro”, 3.0 to 3.9 as “minor”, 4.0 to 4.9 as “light”, 5.0 to 5.9 as “moderate”, 6.0 to 6.9 as “strong”, 7.0 to 7.9 as “major” and 8.0 and above as “great”.

Micro earthquakes, such as the kind the UAE experienced this month, occur more than 100,000 times a year and are typically detected by local instruments — but not people.

The Afghanistan earthquake was at the upper end of the moderate category and there are between about 200 and 2,000 such events each year.

These usually cause damage only to poorly constructed buildings, which helps to explain the devastation seen in Afghanistan, as many houses and other buildings in the country are not built to survive earthquakes.

“There’s no reinforcement. There’s not even any cement [in some buildings],” said Peter Styles, professor emeritus of applied and environmental geophysics at Keele University in the UK, who has seen first-hand the damage earthquakes have caused in countries such as Pakistan.

“Unfortunately, there’s very little we can do in terms of stopping these earthquakes. The buildings fall down and you build them up again.”

By contrast, in the Gulf, building codes are more stringent, Mr Styles said, so even if an earthquake of a high magnitude were to occur, the consequences would not be as severe.

“If you have sufficient money, you can withstand a magnitude six without problems,” Mr Styles said.

Why does Afghanistan suffer more severe earthquakes?

To understand why Afghanistan, and neighbouring Pakistan, are at risk of earthquakes, it is necessary to look to India.

The earth has more than a dozen major tectonic plates and the area around Afghanistan lies close to the border of three of them — the Arabian Plate, the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The Indian Plate is moving north and colliding with the Eurasian Plate.

“India is trying to move northwards,” Mr Styles said. “It’s shaped like a gigantic wedge; it’s forcing its way into Asia. That’s why we have the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush [mountain ranges].

“These earthquakes are on the main Himalayan fault. [Afghanistan and Pakistan] are on a major tectonic boundary.”

The area that was hit is part of the Alpide Belt, which stretches all the way to the Atlantic and is one of the most seismically active regions in the world.

By contrast, the UAE's location means it is not as vulnerable to movements of tectonic plates.

“The Arabian Plate is mostly being pushed sideways because of the opening of the Red Sea. That’s a slightly different process,” Mr Styles said.

“Arabia was joined to Africa, although in the last 30 million years, Arabia has slid northwards.”

Jordan, Palestine, Israel and Syria are more likely than the UAE to experience tremors because they lie close to the border of the Arabian Plate and the African Plate. Both are migrating northwards, but the movement of the Arabian Plate is faster.

The UAE and surrounding states are “not anywhere near as vulnerable as even the western part of Saudi Arabia", Mr Styles said.

“Arabia and the Gulf states are slightly protected because the whole block is moving northwards,” he added.

Iran, however, lies in the region where the Arabian Plate and the Eurasian Plate meet, putting it at risk of earthquakes. Like Afghanistan, it is on the Alpide Belt.

This month, Iran experienced a 5.9-magnitude quake, which was felt in the Emirates.

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Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
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2. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Mercedes, 1:35.271.
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5. Alexander Albon, Thailand, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1:35.571.
6. Carlos Sainz Jr, Spain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.815.
7. Daniil Kvyat, Russia, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:35.963.
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Eliminated after second session

11. Esteban Ocon, France, Renault, 1:36.359.
12. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Renault, 1:36.406.
13. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Ferrari, 1:36.631.
14. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:38.248.

Eliminated after first session

15. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.075.
16. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.555.
17. Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, Haas Ferrari, 1:37.863.
18. George Russell, Great Britain, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.045.
19. Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazil, Haas Ferrari, 1:38.173.
20. Nicholas Latifi, Canada, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.443.

Mica

Director: Ismael Ferroukhi

Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani

3 stars

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Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke

Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke

Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO

Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision

Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision

Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO

Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)

Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)

Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision

Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke

Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO

Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision

Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision

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Name: Thndr

Started: October 2020

Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: FinTech

Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000

Funding stage: series A; $20 million

Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC,  Rabacap and MSA Capital

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Dir: Francis Lawrence

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Egerton, Charlotte Rampling, Jeremy Irons

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Town: Al Diqdaqah – Ras Al Khaimah

Education: Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering

Favourite colour: White

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Started: January 2018

Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour

Based: Jordan

Sector: FinTech

Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018

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Updated: June 25, 2022, 8:29 AM`