May 30, 1998 Afghanistan earthquake
Encyclopedia
The May 30, 1998 Afghanistan earthquake occurred at 06:22 UTC on May 30, 1998, in northern Afghanistan
in the Takhar Province
. The affected area was controlled by the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan
.
was 6.9 on the Richter scale. This was the second largest earthquake in the area in 1998 after another earthquake on February 4
. Between 4,000-4,500 people died in the earthquake in Takhar and Badakhshan
provinces. Nearly 7,000 families were affected and estimated 16,000 houses were destroyed or damaged. Approximately 45,000 people became homeless due to the earthquake. More than 30 villages were destroyed and another 70 were severely damaged. Several thousand animals were killed and crops and infrastructure was destroyed in the earthquake.
Like many other poorer developing nations, Afghanistan was ill equipped to face this kind of natural disaster
. The country had no forms of protection or hazard micronization. Houses were mainly built of mud brick with shallow foundation. The villages were built on unstable slopes. Many villages were entirely buried due to the landslides triggered by the quake. Aftershock
s continued for a month. The earthquake was also felt at Mazar-e Sharif
, Kabul
, Andijan
, Samarkand
, Islamabad
, Peshawar
, Rawalpindi
and Dushanbe
.
in the area during the Soviet war in Afghanistan
and knew many of the villages. Relief efforts was also delayed because of blocked roads, bad weather and political turmoil in the region.
Relief effort by several agencies in Afghanistan was administered from neighboring Pakistan
as many organizations learned from previous bitter experience not to base too many assets in Kabul
or in any other city in Afghanistan. A sub-base for the relief efforts was established in Rostaq in the Takhar Province
near Afghanistan-Tajikistan
border, which in spite of lacking airfield had open spaces for helicopter operations and a road link to Tajikistan. A worldwide appeal for helicopters was made to assist in the relief operations.
The United Nations
(UN) and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were involved relief efforts in the affected area. A joint relief operation was mounted by the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
(IFRC) and a number of national and international NGOs.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
in the Takhar Province
Takhar Province
Takhār is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It was established in 1964 when Qataghan Province was divided into three provinces: Baghlan, Kunduz and Takhar. It is in the north-east of the country. Its capital is Taloqan. Its salt mines are one of Afghanistan's major mineral resources...
. The affected area was controlled by the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan
United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan
The United Islamic Front , known in the West and Pakistan as the Northern Alliance, was a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1996 under the leadership of Defense Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud...
.
Overview
The magnitude of the earthquakeEarthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
was 6.9 on the Richter scale. This was the second largest earthquake in the area in 1998 after another earthquake on February 4
February 4, 1998 Afghanistan earthquake
February 4, 1998 Afghanistan earthquake occurred in northern Afghanistan in the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region. The epicenter of the earthquake was located at Rostaq in the Takhar Province near Afghan-Tajikistan border. The magnitude of the quake was 6.1 on the Richter scale and it lasted...
. Between 4,000-4,500 people died in the earthquake in Takhar and Badakhshan
Badakhshan Province
Badakhshan is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, consisting of 28 districts. It is located in the north-east of the country, between the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya. It is part of the Badakhshan region.-Geography:...
provinces. Nearly 7,000 families were affected and estimated 16,000 houses were destroyed or damaged. Approximately 45,000 people became homeless due to the earthquake. More than 30 villages were destroyed and another 70 were severely damaged. Several thousand animals were killed and crops and infrastructure was destroyed in the earthquake.
Like many other poorer developing nations, Afghanistan was ill equipped to face this kind of natural disaster
Natural disaster
A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...
. The country had no forms of protection or hazard micronization. Houses were mainly built of mud brick with shallow foundation. The villages were built on unstable slopes. Many villages were entirely buried due to the landslides triggered by the quake. Aftershock
Aftershock
An aftershock is a smaller earthquake that occurs after a previous large earthquake, in the same area of the main shock. If an aftershock is larger than the main shock, the aftershock is redesignated as the main shock and the original main shock is redesignated as a foreshock...
s continued for a month. The earthquake was also felt at Mazar-e Sharif
Mazar-e Sharif
Mazār-i-Sharīf or Mazār-e Sharīf is the fourth largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 375,000 as of 2006. It is the capital of Balkh province and is linked by roads to Kunduz in the east, Kabul in the south-east, Herat to the west and Uzbekistan to the north...
, Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, Andijan
Andijan
Andijan or Andizhan is the fourth-largest city in Uzbekistan, and the capital of the Andijan Province. It is located in the east of the country, at , in the Fergana Valley, near the border with Kyrgyzstan on the Andijan-Say River...
, Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
, Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
and Dushanbe
Dushanbe
-Economy:Coal, lead, and arsenic are mined nearby in the cities of Nurek and Kulob allowing for the industrialization of Dushanbe. The Nurek Dam, the world's highest as of 2008, generates 95% of Tajikistan's electricity, and another dam, the Roghun Dam, is planned on the Vakhsh River...
.
Relief efforts
Several problems appeared during the relief operation. The affected region was remote and lacked any modern telecommunication. The local culture prohibited male physicians to examine, or even speak to women. There was no available accurate map of the affected region. However this problem was solved as the pilots of the first Tajikistan helicopters served with the Soviet Armed ForcesSoviet Armed Forces
The Soviet Armed Forces, also called the Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Armed Forces of the Soviet Union refers to the armed forces of the Russian SFSR , and Soviet Union from their beginnings in the...
in the area during the Soviet war in Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
and knew many of the villages. Relief efforts was also delayed because of blocked roads, bad weather and political turmoil in the region.
Relief effort by several agencies in Afghanistan was administered from neighboring Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
as many organizations learned from previous bitter experience not to base too many assets in Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
or in any other city in Afghanistan. A sub-base for the relief efforts was established in Rostaq in the Takhar Province
Takhar Province
Takhār is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It was established in 1964 when Qataghan Province was divided into three provinces: Baghlan, Kunduz and Takhar. It is in the north-east of the country. Its capital is Taloqan. Its salt mines are one of Afghanistan's major mineral resources...
near Afghanistan-Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
border, which in spite of lacking airfield had open spaces for helicopter operations and a road link to Tajikistan. A worldwide appeal for helicopters was made to assist in the relief operations.
The United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
(UN) and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were involved relief efforts in the affected area. A joint relief operation was mounted by the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
(ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is a humanitarian institution that is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement along with the ICRC and 186 distinct National Societies...
(IFRC) and a number of national and international NGOs.