Significant 5.0 quake hits near Halabja, Qaḑā’ Ḩalabchah, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq

An earthquake of magnitude 5.0 occurred in the evening on Thursday, March 16th, 2023, at 9:32 pm local time near Halabja, Qaḑā'Ḩalabchah, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, 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 the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake which listed the quake at magnitude 5.0 as well.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.

In Halabja (pop. 57,300) located 22 km from the epicenter, Paveh (pop. 17,800) 25 km away, and Marivan (pop. 91,700) 31 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Penjwin (pop. 27,100) located 49 km from the epicenter, Javānrūd (pop. 38,700) 56 km away, Sanandaj (pop. 349,200) 71 km away, Kāmyārān (pop. 61,600) 82 km away, and Bani (pop. 104,800) 90 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: Mar 16, 2023 9:32 pm (GMT +3) local time (16 Mar 2023 18:32 GMT)
Magnitude: 5.0
Depth: 10.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 35.24°N / 46.22°E (Kurdistan Province, Iraq)
Primary data source: GFZ