Magnitude 6.5 earthquake strikes near Herat, Herat District, Afghanistan

An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 occurred in the morning on Saturday, October 7th, 2023, at 11:12 am local time near Herat, Herat District, Afghanistan, as reported by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).
According to preliminary data, the quake was located at a shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS) which listed the quake at magnitude 6.5 as well. Other agencies reporting the same quake include India's National Center for Seismology (NCS) at magnitude 6.2, and the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake at magnitude 6.5.
Generally quakes of this magnitude are recorded by more than one agency and the results can vary, with subsequent reports that come in after the first one often showing more accuracy.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the area of the epicenter. It might have caused light to moderate damage.
Moderate shaking probably occurred in Zindah Jān (pop. 10,100) located 32 km from the epicenter, Herat (pop. 272,800) 35 km away, Qarah Bāgh (pop. 12,400) 43 km away, Chahār Burj (pop. 11,900) 44 km away, Karukh (pop. 17,500) 60 km away, Kuhsān (pop. 12,100) 68 km away, and Kafir Qala (pop. 18,100) 81 km away.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you're in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.

Earthquake data:
Date & time: Oct 7, 2023 11:42 am (GMT +4:30) local time (7 Oct 2023 07:12 GMT)
Magnitude: 6.5
Depth: 10.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 34.58°N / 61.94°E (Zindah Jān, Herat, Afghanistan)
Primary data source: GFZ