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Strong mag. 5.1 earthquake - 15 km north of Halabja, Qaḑā’ Ḩalabchah, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, on Thursday, Mar 16, 2023 at 9:32 pm (GMT +3) -

Strong mag. 5.1 earthquake - 15 km north of Halabja, Qaḑā’ Ḩalabchah, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, on Thursday, Mar 16, 2023 at 9:32 pm (GMT +3) Strong mag. 5.1 earthquake - 15 km north of Halabja, Qaḑā’ Ḩalabchah, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, on Thursday, Mar 16, 2023 at 9:32 pm (GMT +3)

Strong magnitude 5.1 earthquake at 10 km depth

16 Mar 18:35 UTC: First to report: VolcanoDiscovery after 3 minutes.
16 Mar 18:39: Now using data updates from GFZ
... [show all] ...
22 Mar 16:48: Epicenter location corrected by 8.3 km (5.2 mi) towards NNW.
Update Thu, 16 Mar 2023, 18:48

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

5.0 quake 16 Mar 10:02 pm (GMT +3:30)
5.0 quake 16 Mar 10:02 pm (GMT +3:30)
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.

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Earthquake details

Date & timeMar 16, 2023 18:32:51 UTC -
Local time at epicenterThursday, Mar 16, 2023 at 9:32 pm (GMT +3)
StatusConfirmed
Magnitude5.1
Depth10.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude35.3098°N / 45.9785°E (Qaḑā’ Ḩalabchah, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq)
Antipode35.31°S / 134.022°W
Shaking intensityLight shaking
Felt45 reports
Primary data sourceUSGS (United States Geological Survey)
Nearby towns and cities15 km (9 mi) N of Halabja (pop: 57,300) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
30 km (18 mi) SW of Marivan (Kordestān, Iran) (pop: 91,700) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
35 km (22 mi) S of Penjwin (pop: 27,100) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
45 km (28 mi) NW of Paveh (Kermānshāh, Iran) (pop: 17,800) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
57 km (35 mi) ESE of Sulaimaniyya (as-Sulaimaniyya) (pop: 723,200) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
77 km (48 mi) S of Bani (Kordestān, Iran) (pop: 104,800) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
263 km (163 mi) NNE of Baghdad (pop: 7,216,000) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
282 km (175 mi) ESE of Mossul (Nīnawá) (pop: 1,739,800) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
Weather at epicenter at time of quakeLight Rain 11.3°C (52 F), humidity: 79%, wind: 2 m/s (4 kts) from SE
Estimated seismic energy released2.8 x 1012 joules (783 megawatt hours, equivalent to 674 tons of TNT) | about seismic energy
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Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies

Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
Mag.DepthLocationSource
5.110 kmIran-Iraq Border RegionUSGS
5.110 kmIran-Iraq Border RegionRaspberryShake
5.010 kmIraq: Near IrbilRENASS
5.110 kmIRAN-IRAQ BORDER REGIONEMSC
5.210 kmIran-Iraq Border RegionGFZ
5.110 kmIran-Iraq Border RegionIRIS
5.18.3 kmIRANKOERI-RETMC

User reports for this quake (54)

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
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Sulaymaniyah (65.5 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s : i was lying and an earthquake happened i hear the glass shaking and the earth was shaking | 5 users found this interesting.  
Sulaimanyah (53.4 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : Yeah so basically i had mums lit on i was studying and a reminder for yall⚠️ DO NOT USE MUMS FOR LONG  
Kurdistan (57.2 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : I was in my living room and I was with my dad a I felt I was shaking but I thought that it was just me but then I saw our chairs move and then I realized that it was an earthquake because the house was shaking.I was talking with my dad and when he also stopped talking so I knew there was something off. But All that happened so fast and then my dad screamed that it was an earthquake. We were at Iraq, Kurdistan and the date was 16 of march, 2023 and the time was 9:32pm. After the quake, we went in side and I was still shaking  
Kirkuk (144.8 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : I was in the bed watching YT, I thought my little brother was shaking the bed but he is not in the room, I told my mom if she felt an earthquake happened just now She said yes  
Baghdad alrisafa / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Light shaking and The wardrobe moved very light and my mom feel deezy | 2 users found this interesting. (reported through our app)  
Erbil (199.1 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / vibration and rolling / 15-20 s : Very strong | One user found this interesting.  
Grand millennium hotel kurdi (59.3 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Lying bed and felt like my bed was pulled from side to side | One user found this interesting.  
Sulaymanniyah (66.1 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 1-2 s : Scary | One user found this interesting.  
Erbil (203.9 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : Sitting on the chair and moved | One user found this interesting.  
near Sulaimaniyya, Qaḑā’ as Sulaymānīyah (37.8 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : I was laying in bed and felt it, it was strong and lasted about 2 amd half seconds | One user found this interesting.  
Sulaymaniyah (52.5 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s
Sulaimaniyya, Qaḑā’ as Sulaymānīyah (56.9 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s
Sulaymania (69.1 km NNW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 30-60 s : Light shaking and light’s rattling  
near Sulaimaniyya, Qaḑā’ as Sulaymānīyah (54.7 km NW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating
near Halabja, Qaḑā’ Ḩalabchah, Sulaymaniyah (8.6 km NW of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 2-5 s
Sulaymaniyah (55.7 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s
34 km of Sarpol-e Z̄ahāb, Kermānshāh (80.8 km SSW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) (reported through our app)
Baghdad, Al Rusafa (259.6 km SW of epicenter) [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
Suleymaniah (50.5 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single lateral shake / very short
Baghdad (267.8 km SW of epicenter) [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
الكويت (683 km SSE of epicenter) [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
Ashqelon, Southern District (1129.1 km WSW of epicenter) [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
Sulaymaniyah (52.5 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 2-5 s
Sulaimaniyya, Qaḑā’ as Sulaymānīyah (59 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s : Horizontal shaking  
Qaladiza (123.7 km NW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 15-20 s : Weak shaking (reported through our app)  
Bagdad (261.6 km SW of epicenter) [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
Slemani (62.6 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Rumblings  
Sulaimaniyya, Qaḑā’ as Sulaymānīyah (57.1 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : رامانکردە دەرەوە when we fill it we r going out of the house  
sulaymaniyah (55.3 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s
sul (56.3 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / 5-10 s
Erbil, Kurdistan (206.8 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 s : First time  
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Aftershocks

[More info]

Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)

So far, no aftershocks have been registered.

Earlier earthquakes in the same area

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