The term intraplate earthquake refers to a variety of earthquake that occurs within the interior of a tectonic plate; this stands in contrast to an interplate earthquake, which occurs at the boundary of a tectonic plate.
The 2005 Kashmir earthquake occurred at on 8 October in Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir. It was centred near the city of Muzaffarabad, and also affected nearby Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and some areas of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. It registered a moment magnitude of 7.6 and had a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). The earthquake also affected countries in the surrounding region where tremors were felt in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, India and the Xinjiang region. The severity of the damage caused by the earthquake is attributed to severe upthrust. Over 86,000 people died, a similar number were injured, and millions were displaced. It is considered the deadliest earthquake in South Asia, surpassing the 1935 Quetta earthquake.
The 2002 Hindu Kush earthquakes struck in northern Afghanistan during the month of March. At least 166 people were killed with a very large and intermediate-depth mainshock on March 3. Three weeks later, at least a further thousand were killed during a large, but shallow event that had a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. The M7.4 and M6.1 reverse events were focused in the Hindu Kush mountain range area.
The 2008 Ziarat earthquakes hit the Pakistani province of Balochistan on October 29 with a moment magnitude of 6.4. The US Geological Survey reported that the first earthquake occurred 60 km (37 mi) north of Quetta and 185 km (115 mi) southeast of the Afghanistan city of Kandahar at 04:09 local time at a depth of 15 km (9.3 mi), at 30.653°N, 67.323°E. It was followed by another shallower magnitude 6.4 earthquake at a depth of 14 km (8.7 mi) approximately 12 hours after the initial shock, at 30.546°N, 67.447°E. 215 people were confirmed dead. More than 200 were injured, and 120,000 were homeless. The New York Times reported that Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, director general of Pakistan Meteorological Department, stated the quake epicenter was 70 miles (110 km) north of Quetta, and about 600 km (370 mi) southwest of Islamabad.
A 6.2 magnitude earthquake occurred in Afghanistan on October 22, 2009 at 19:51:27 UTC. The maximum Mercalli intensity was V (Moderate) at Fayzabad, Badakhshan.
The 2011 Dalbandin earthquake occurred on with a moment magnitude of 7.2 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. The shock occurred in a sparsely populated area of Balochistan, caused moderate damage, three deaths, and some injuries.
The 2013 Saravan earthquake occurred with a moment magnitude of 7.7 at 15:14 pm IRDT (UTC+4:30) on 16 April. The shock struck a mountainous area between the cities of Saravan and Khash in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, close to the border with Pakistan, with a duration of about 25 seconds. The earthquake occurred at an intermediate depth in the Arabian plate lithosphere, near the boundary between the subducting Arabian Plate and the overriding Eurasian Plate at a depth of about 80 km.
The 2013 Balochistan earthquakes took place in late September in southwestern Pakistan. The mainshock had a moment magnitude of 7.7 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). At least 825 people were killed and hundreds more were injured. On 28 September, a M6.8 aftershock occurred to the north at a depth of 14.8 kilometres, killing at least 22 people. These earthquakes occurred in a sparsely populated region of Pakistan and this reduced the number of casualties significantly.
A major earthquake occurred in Nepal on 12 May 2015 at 12:50 pm local time with a moment magnitude of 7.3, 18 kilometres (11 mi) southeast of Kodari. The epicenter was on the border of Dolakha and Sindhupalchowk, two districts of Nepal. This earthquake occurred on the same fault as the larger magnitude 7.8 earthquake of 25 April, but further east than the original quake. As such, it is considered to be an aftershock of the April quake. It struck at a depth of 18.5 km (11.5 mi). Shaking was felt in northern parts of India including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Tremors were felt as far as about 2,400 km away from the epicenter in Chennai.
The October 2015 Hindu Kush earthquake was a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that struck South Asia on 26 October 2015, at 13:39 AFT with the epicenter 45 km north of `Alaqahdari-ye Kiran wa Munjan, Afghanistan, at a depth of 212.5 km.
On December 7, 2015, an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the moment magnitude scale struck Tajikistan 105 km (65 mi) west of Murghab at 07:50 UTC at a depth of 26.0 km (16.2 mi). The earthquake was also felt in neighboring Xinjiang in China, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The 2019 Kashmir earthquake struck regions of Pakistan with an epicentre in Azad Kashmir on 24 September at 16:02 local time. It had a magnitude of 5.6 and a maximum felt intensity of VII on the Modified Mercalli scale. There was severe damage in Mirpur District, causing the deaths of 40 people and injuring a further 850. The epicentre of the shallow quake was near the city of Mirpur, Pakistan. The tremors were felt in the Kashmir region, Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab (India), Uttarakhand and northern parts of India including New Delhi.
The 2021 Assam earthquake struck 11 km away from Dhekiajuli, Assam, India at 07:51 (IST) on April 28, 2021 with a richter scale magnitude of 6.4. The quake struck at a depth of 34 km, 140 km north of the main city of Guwahati. It resulted in two fatalities and at least 12 injuries.
The 1983 Hindu Kush earthquake occurred south of Fayzabad, Badakhshan in northeast Afghanistan, near the border with Pakistan and the USSR. Striking 214.5 km beneath the Hindu Kush mountains, the moment magnitude 7.4 quake affected three countries, killing at least 26 people and injuring several hundred.
The Lenin Peak disaster occurred on 13 July 1990 when 43 climbers were killed during an avalanche on the 7,134-meter-high mountain peak in northeast Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The deadly avalanche was triggered by a moment magnitude scale 6.4 earthquake which struck at a depth of 216.8 km beneath the Hindu Kush mountains in neighbouring Afghanistan. The incident is believed to be the deadliest mountaineering disaster in history.
The 1991 Hindu Kush earthquake occurred northeast of Kabul, Afghanistan. It was an intermediate-depth earthuake with a hypocenter 142.4 km beneath the Hindu Kush mountains. The quake measured 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale, and affected neighbouring Pakistan and the USSR. At least 848 people were killed in both countries and damage was estimated at $26 million USD.
