Talk:2023 Herat earthquakes

A news item involving 2023 Herat earthquakes was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the In the news section on 8 October 2023.

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Areas affected[edit]

According to the map both Iran and Turkmenistan are close to the epicenter. But only Afghanistan and Iran are mentioned as the areas affected. Shouldn't Turkmenistan be mentioned as well? Aminabzz (talk) 07:28, 8 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Do we have reliable sources to state Turkmenistan was affected? Affected means there was human/infrastructure losses, not just proxy. Dora the Axe-plorer (explore) 07:59, 8 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

If that's the definition for affected by earthquake then Iran should be excluded. Because no one is killed in Iran and no buildings are lost there. Just an injury and minor damages to some buildings. Aminabzz (talk) 15:18, 8 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Aminabzz Sorry I should've reworded. Damage and injury would apply as well. Dora the Axe-plorer (explore) 15:49, 8 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

But still the earthquake was felt in Turkmenistan (and AFAIK in Uzbekistan as well). Isn't it better to at least mention this information in the article? Aminabzz (talk) 17:58, 8 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

It would be OK to add this fact into the article body, but being felt wouldn't qualify for the affected parameter in the infobox. Dora the Axe-plorer (explore) 04:39, 9 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Vandalised photo[edit]

The article might have been vandalised as the cover photo for the article in the Wikipedia app is a human penis. Not sure where to change it but someone should look into it. PAL1234567891 (talk) 07:41, 8 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

It's fixed and the vandal is blocked. Aminabzz (talk) 15:08, 8 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Doublet[edit]

If this earthquake event is indeed a doublet, then the title should be changed to 2023 Herat earthquake, and the lead as "The 2023 Herat earthquake was a Doublet earthquake that occurred..." Does being a doublet need to be scientifically confirmed or is it simply descriptive term? Celjski Grad (talk) 07:43, 10 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The earthquakes almost certainly represent a doublet, but we probably shouldn't say that in the article without some sort of source to support it. Even if we get such a source, we can go on using the title "2023 Herat earthquakes". The 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes have been called a doublet by multiple sources, but most sources just use the plural, so no reason to change either title I think. Mikenorton (talk) 15:04, 10 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

This was a wp:bold edit by me in an attempt to improve the lead section. It might be best if I wait a few months before doing so again because now it's definitely not a doublet. Deauthorized. ^(talk) 21:09, 11 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Asking in good faith, what's your basis for this definitely not being a doublet? Dora the Axe-plorer (explore) 21:52, 11 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Nevermind, I'm dumb. It turns out doublet earthquakes can sometimes be more than two. Maybe I should let myself wake up fully before participating in conversations. Deauthorized. ^(talk) 23:32, 11 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

6.3 magnitude on 11 October[edit]

The third one took place today — "The latest magnitude 6.3 earthquake was about 28 kilometers (17 miles) outside Herat, the capital of Herat province, and 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep, according to the U.S. Geological Survey."^[1]

References

^ EBRAHIM NOROOZI (2023-10-11). "6.3 magnitude earthquake shakes part of western Afghanistan where earlier quake killed over 2,000". apnews.com. AP News. Retrieved 2023-10-11.

☆☆☆—Pietadè^Talk 07:22, 11 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Death toll discrepancy[edit]

An article by AFP via Barron's published 13 minutes ago as of writing states the Taliban lowered the number of dead to ~1,000 from earlier figures of >2,000. It's the only source to provide this information so far.

But with this article, I want to raise my concern about the discrepancy of death toll between what's reported across media outlets and the OCHA's last flash report. Currently the OCHA states 1,294 deaths and 485 missing. This is a huge difference in the number of dead, and while I don't suggest changing the death toll to 1,000, or following the OCHA, I believe the OCHA's calculation should be taken into consideration and included in the infobox.

In the meantime, keep a lookout for more sources updating the death toll. Dora the Axe-plorer (explore) 09:35, 11 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Since the Taliban aren't experienced in governing they aren't accurate in news and statistics. Even that 5 years of experience from 1996 to 2001 wasn't enough for them. They just cared about censorships in those years. Of course other probability is that they deliberately changed the statistics to lower numbers. Aminabzz (talk) 10:46, 11 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

There was an edit by @Quake1234 who added a death toll of 4,500 per Sarajevo Times. Cross referencing, I can't find any other source support this figure. Casting doubt the death toll is actually that high. Dora the Axe-plorer (explore) 12:36, 11 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Even if the death toll is actually that high it doesn't surprise me. Houses in Afghanistan don't meet any world-accepted standards. Aminabzz (talk) 15:10, 11 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

FYI it isn't the first time the Taliban has miscalculated casualties during this event. Earlier in the week they had revised the number of injured from >9,000 down to 2,000.Dora the Axe-plorer (explore) 12:47, 11 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Map of main shock and aftershocks[edit]

While there are three main shocks, in the map there are just two magnitude 6 earthquakes. Aminabzz (talk) 11:31, 12 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I've included the updated map into the infobox Dora the Axe-plorer (explore) 11:38, 12 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. Aminabzz (talk) 20:25, 12 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Linked name of country?[edit]

Why can't the country's name be linked in the lede? The vast majority of events, including other earthquakes this year, have the country where it happened linked. What is so different about this? Kymothoë (talk) 12:43, 12 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Country names are often unliked on the basis of them being overlinks. However, if a word or name is particularly relevant to the article, it isn't an overlink. The country is obviously particularly relevant to any article which - like this one - is about something that happened there. Jim 2 Michael (talk) 15:01, 15 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Iranian foreign minister[edit]

The name of Iranian foreign minister is Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, not Hossein Amir. Aminabzz (talk) 19:06, 13 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Fixed now. Borgenland (talk) 19:36, 13 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Big like! Aminabzz (talk) 12:13, 14 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Other earthquakes[edit]

Is this earthquake event the only in history that four above magnitude 6 main-shocks have occurred just a few days apart? Or are there other examples too? Aminabzz (talk) 16:03, 15 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Multiple large earthquakes occurring within a short timeframe in the same geographical region isn't common in frequency of occurrence so there aren't many examples of those larger than Mw6. Most earthquake sequences such as these have smaller magnitudes in the 4 and 5 range. There are definitely more examples in the pre-instrumental period which weren't recorded.

Probably the most famous example of four very large earthquake occurring proxy in time and place is the 1811–1812 New Madrid sequence (four Mw 7.0–7.5). There is also the May–November 1938 Ibaraki–Fukushima sequence involving five Mw7.6–7.8 on the Japan Meagathrust. More recent and closer to Afghanistan, in 2017, three Mw6.0–6.1 earthquakes struck Kerman, Iran on thrust faults. Dora the Axe-plorer (explore) 23:10, 15 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

See also the 1951 East Rift Valley earthquakes in Taiwan, with four of M_w  >7. Mikenorton (talk) 02:16, 16 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Depths[edit]

The depths mentioned here differ from the depths mentioned in the article List of earthquakes in 2023. Which is true? Aminabzz (talk) 13:32, 18 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

All depth information on both articles are sourced from the USGS event page. These information can change and Wikipedia may not be up to date with that. The list hasn't been update it seems. Dora the Axe-plorer (explore) 13:47, 18 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Islamic Emirate Begins Building Houses in Quake-Affected Areas[edit]

Please add at the end of "Aftermath and recovery" section this latest news. [1] [2] Also, regarding China, Iran and Turkey under the "International reactions" section, please add the following:

"China gives $5 million in aid to Herat earthquake victims" [3]
"Iran sends 200 billion Rials in aid to Afghanistan’s quake victims" [4]
"Directorate for Disaster and Emergency Management of Türkiye (AFAD) handed over tents (250 pc), blankets (1500) and medical equipment (including 79.168 boxes of medicine and 13.480 bottle of serum) to the local authorities." [5]

Thank you.--39.41.13.150 (talk) 17:11, 18 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The most recent aftershock[edit]

On October 28th, an aftershock with a magnitude of more than 5 occurred in the region. Aminabzz (talk) 23:52, 28 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

[AP_2023-10-11-1] EBRAHIM NOROOZI (2023-10-11). "6.3 magnitude earthquake shakes part of western Afghanistan where earlier quake killed over 2,000". apnews.com. AP News. Retrieved 2023-10-11.

[1]