Why are shallow earthquakes destroying more than that deep? | Seismic news

6 -size earthquake to hit East Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan before midnight local time on Sunday, according to the United States’s geological survey. I followed several tremors.

At least 800 people were killed and 2,500 people were injured. The center of the earthquake was at a depth of about 8 km (5 miles), which is what earthquake scientists consider shaking, which shakes more intense and destroyed, especially for fragile homes and societies.

Most earthquakes occur in shallow depths, and in this visual explanation, we explain why the close to the surface often causes more destruction than the depths, even when its size is the same.

How are earthquakes?

An earthquake, in the simplest terms, occurs when the earth shakes.

The surface of the earth consists of a kilometer of solid rock cut into a jigs of moving pieces called tectonic panels, which sits on a sea of ​​liquid hot rock music that rolling while cooling, and pushing the panels around them. Earthquakes and volcanoes occur on the surface where these paintings meet.

The panels are always technically in the movement, but they are usually closed together, and building stress until something under the ground settles, which liberates them to slip along known lines of broken rocks called defects, which can work for kilometers.

When the pressure suddenly goes and the plate moves, the energy explodes in the surrounding rocks.

How is the earthquakes measured?

Scientists use earthquakes, which were wrinkle needles, recorded the earthquakes, but now digital equipment.

There is a global network of these, as well as local and regional networks, a lot of open source data and automatically connected. By combining at least three measurements, systems can accurately set the location, duration and size of the earthquake.

While there are several ways to measure earthquakes, the most common scale indicates their total size, as each increase in one unit represents an increase in strength.

The depth is also a major factor, as it greatly affects the effect of the earthquake, as shallow earthquakes usually cause more damage.

Why shallow earthquakes are more destructive?

Even if the earthquake has the same size, their depths can make a big difference in the amount of damage they caused and their ability to the surface. Shallow earthquakes tend to be more destructive because their energy has a less distance to travel before reaching people and buildings.

In deeper earthquakes, a lot of energy dissipates while moving across layers of rocks. On the contrary, that shallow fires its energy near the ground, resulting in stronger vibration and greater damage to the populated areas.

There are usually three measurements used to classify the depth of the earthquake: shallow concentration (0-70 km or 0-43 miles), medieval concentration (70-300 km or 43-186 mi), and deep concentration (300-700 km or 186-435 miles).

Where do most Afghanistan earthquakes happen?

Afghanistan is located in one of the most active seismic areas on the ground, with the Hindu Kush mountain range a hot point for both shallow and deep earthquakes. This area is very active due to the tectonic collision between the Indian painting and the European plate.

This massive pressure violates the shell, while in Hindus, it also pushes parts of the rock cover to the severe cover in the scarf. As a result, the Bamir-Hindo Kush region in northern Afghanistan is witnessing intense earthquakes, up to 200 km (124 miles)-a rare phenomenon in the world.

On the contrary, along the Solomon Group (West Pakistan and Southeast Afghanistan) and near the payment of the main prince, earthquakes are usually shallow and destructive, and beating closer to the surface where it causes the largest damage.

The drawing below shows the place where some of the bloodiest earthquakes across Afghanistan have occurred since 1991.