The area 46 km south west of Khost Afghanistan was struck by Magnitude (Mw) 5.9 Earthquake on 22nd June 2022 at 01:54 am (PKT). The epicenter of this earthquake was located (33.092 °N 69.51°E) at a distance of 50 km from Miranshah (Pakistan) and 200 km from Kabul (Afghanistan). The depth of hypocenter was 10 km and earthquake was categorized as shallow. The shallow depth caused strong shocks and damage in Afghanistan and border areas of Pakistan. The intensity of the earthquake varied from VI-VII (Strong- Very Strong) in epicentral region (Fig.1). This region is seismically active as the Indian plate translates obliquely relative to the Eurasian plate, which results in strike-slip, reverse-slip, and oblique-slip earthquakes. The pattern of elastic waves that were radiated by this earthquake indicate the event was predominantly strike-slip faulting.
Figure 1: Map of Mw 5.9 Khost Earthquake (Source: USGS). Star represents the epicenter. The circles represent the population size
Figure 2: Diagrammatic representation of Thrust faulting. (Nps.gov)
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