At Least 13 Killed After Powerful Earthquake Shakes Afghanistan, Pakistan, India
The Facts
On Tuesday night, a 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck the Hindu Kush region near the remote northern Afghan province of Badakhshan, killing four people and injuring over 70.
The quake also claimed nine lives in northwest Pakistan, where it also caused landslides, damaged buildings, and left over 200 injured, forcing hospitals in the region to declare a state of emergency.
The Spin
Narrative A
Afghanistan has a long history of earthquakes, many of which occur in the mountainous Hindu Kush region that borders Pakistan. Afghanistan and the larger part of south Asia along the Hindu Kush mountains are seismically active because two tectonic plates — known as the Indian and Eurasian plates — are pushing into each other. Not much can be done to protect the country and its neighbors from this unfortunate geographical feature which puts the lives of those living in the area at risk.
Narrative B
People don't usually associate earthquakes with climate change, but they are intimately connected. Scientists are warning that the impacts of global warming could make earthquakes more damaging and deadly. The climate crisis may not directly cause earthquakes, but it has caused more extreme weather over the years, and it's this intensity that puts stress on fault lines. By doing more about climate change, it is possible that this aggravating factor of the severity of quakes could be tempered in the future.