M 6.3 in Afghanistan on 07 Oct 2023 06:41 UTC

Event summary

This earthquake can have a high humanitarian impact based on the magnitude and the affected population and their vulnerability.

GDACS ID EQ 1394952
Earthquake Magnitude: 6.3M
Glide number: EQ-2023-000184-AFG
Depth: 14 Km
Lat/Lon: 34.6102 , 61.9242
Event Date: 07 Oct 2023 06:41 UTC
07 Oct 2023 11:11 Local
Exposed Population: 70 thousand (in MMI>=VII)
Inserted at: 07 Oct 2023 07:33 UTC
INFORM Coping capacity:
7.5 (Afghanistan)

GDACS Score

For more info on GDACS alert score click here.
  Earthquake
(Shakemap)		 GDACS score
NEIC 3.1 3.1
us6000ldpg Scaled population (raster) 3.84  
  C1 shakemap -0.59  
  C2 shakemap 0.53  
  Country Vulnerability 0  
  INFORM_normalised 1.29  
Maximum expected impact using different data sources.
Virtual OSOCC
Meteo assessment
Satellite products
Analytical products
Afghanistan - Earthquakes (ECHO 09 Oct 2023)Mon, 09 Oct 2023 11:07

  • A 6.3 M earthquake at a depth of 14 km, followed by a 6.3 M and two others of 5.9 M, hit Herat Province on 7 October at 6.41 UTC. The first 6.3 M earthquake was located in Zinda Jan District, 38 km northwest of Herat City.
  • Several other aftershocks of magnitude up to 4.9 M have been recorded in the area.
  • There are approximately 1.86 million people living in the area most strongly affected by the earthquake. USGS reports 1.216 million people exposed to strong and very strong shaking from the initial earthquake. Initial partner assessments indicate 11,585 people (1,655 families) directly affected to date, and this figure is likely to rise significantly.
  • Additionally, an estimated 300 families (2,100 people) are reported to have displaced to Herat City where they are living in abandoned buildings. The number of casualties is expected to rise significantly as search and rescue operations are ongoing throughout the region. As of publication, 516 people are still reported missing. At least 11 villages have been totally destroyed.
M6.3 in Afghanistan - UNITAR-UNOSAT ActivationTue, 10 Oct 2023 15:57

UNITAR-UNOSAT Potentially Damaged Buildings has been activated
M6.3 in Afghanistan - UNITAR-UNOSAT ActivationMon, 09 Oct 2023 15:52

UNITAR-UNOSAT Potentially Damaged Buildings has been activated
M6.3 in Afghanistan - UNITAR-UNOSAT ActivationSun, 08 Oct 2023 12:20

UNITAR-UNOSAT Potentially Damaged Buildings has been activated
M6.3 in Afghanistan - UNITAR-UNOSAT ActivationFri, 13 Oct 2023 15:54

UNITAR-UNOSAT Potentially Damaged Buildings has been activated
M6.3 in Afghanistan - UNITAR-UNOSAT ActivationWed, 18 Oct 2023 16:11

UNITAR-UNOSAT Potentially Damaged Buildings has been activated
M6.3 in Afghanistan - UNITAR-UNOSAT ActivationThu, 19 Oct 2023 16:31

UNITAR-UNOSAT Potentially Damaged Buildings has been activated
M6.3 in Afghanistan - UNITAR-UNOSAT ActivationMon, 27 Nov 2023 09:44

UNITAR-UNOSAT Potentially Damaged Buildings has been activated
Detailed event map. European Union, 2026. Map produced by EC-JRC.
The boundaries and the names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the European Union.

Updates on volcanic activity (Smithsonian)

Estimated casualties (PAGER)

USGS estimates the number of casualties for each earthquake for the Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) product.
The graph shows the current fatalities estimate.

Exposed population

Data, images, links, services and documents

For this events, GDACS has links to information from the following sources: EC-JRC (48), NEIC (4), OCHA (1), USGS (5), (2), WMO (1), INFORM (2),