Active faults and seismic hazard in the Kabul basin, Afghanistan

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Abstract

The Kabul basin is the home of the economic and political centers of Afghanistan. The basin is bounded by large active faults related to the convergence of the Indian and Eurasian plates and has a high risk of destructive earthquakes. However, little is known for the location, length, and slip rate of these active faults that are essential for seismic hazard analyses. We mapped the active faults in and around the Kabul basin based on the interpretation of stereo-paired satellite images and field observations. The left-lateral Paghman fault and northern Chaman fault on the western margin of the basin and the right-lateral Sarobi fault on the northeastern margin of the basin show geomorphic evidence for late Quaternary activity. Based on their lengths, these faults may be capable of producing earthquakes as large as Mw 7.8. Historical earthquake catalogs suggest that the Paghman fault last ruptured during the 1505 M 7.3 earthquake. The fault with a slip rate of ~4.6 mm/yr has accumulated enough elastic strain to produce a large inland earthquake close to the densely populated capital city of the country.

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