February 1998 Afghanistan earthquake

Afghanistan is situated on a major plate boundary.[7] The location of the country is on the boundary where two tectonic plates, the Iranian Plate and the Eurasian Plate, meet.[8] To the south of Afghanistan, the Indian Plate moves northwards and to the north the Eurasian Plate moves south-eastwards.[7] The collision resulting from the movement of the plates has been under way for 50 million years.[7] Due to this, Afghanistan is vulnerable to earthquakes.[7] Both the Iranian Plate and the Eurasian Plate consist of continental crust, which can neither sink nor be destroyed.[8] As a result, the rocks between the two plates are forced upwards to form mountains.[8] The constant movement of the Iranian Plate results in an increase in pressure.[8] The earthquake on February 4, 1998 was caused by this increase in pressure.[8]

A death toll of at least 2,323 was reported by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).[5] A spokesman for the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, which controlled certain area, told the Afghan Islamic Press that they removed more than 3,500 bodies.[6] According to the estimates by the Taliban government in Kabul, which ruled the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan at that time, 3,230 people died in the earthquake.[6] Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) later put the death toll at 4,000.[6] The anti-Taliban Afghan Embassy in Dushanbe asserted that approximately 15,000 people became homeless[6][9] and dozens of villages were destroyed.[6] Nearly 15,000 houses were destroyed primarily due to the landslides.[7] Approximately 818 people were injured and 6,725 livestock were killed.[4]

As the Takhar Province was a remote area[8][6] and road transport and telecommunication was poor,[8] it took three days for the news to reach Kabul.[8] On February 7, reports began to reach the capital city,[8] but relief work was hampered and delayed because of bad weather like fog, low cloud and snowfalls, blocked mountain tracks (due to snowfall and landslide) and the civil war.[8][9] Reports indicated that survivors were living without shelter in subzero temperature and many were starving.[8] Several villagers were making their way down the mountain tracks along with their herds of goats.[8]

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement sent a team from Dushanbe to the affected region for relief efforts.[6] The first international relief team reached the affected area on February 7[6] and the first United Nations (UN) team arrived there on February 10.[10] A convoy of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reached the site on February 14 with 4,800 blankets, 800 quilts, 10 rolls of plastic sheeting and approximately 200 tents.[10] Eleven days after the event, on February 16, helicopters were able to drop supplies to three isolated villages.[8] The European Union (EU) offered £1.3m of relief aid including blankets, medical equipment, water and tents.[6] The Taliban-ruled Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan offered 100 tonnes each of rice and wheat, and approximately £40,000 to the affected region.[6]

• List of earthquakes in Afghanistan
• May 1998 Afghanistan earthquake

• ReliefWeb's main page for this event.