Ground rose 90cm after Magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit Iran-Iraq border

Geological officials in Japan say last week’s magnitude-7.3 earthquake that hit the Iran-Iraq border has raised the ground by up to about 90 centimeters as shown by these new pictures captured by the land-observing satellite Daichi-2 from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan.

The officials say their analysis suggests the ground sank up to 30 centimeters near the epicenter. Land rose 10 to up to 90 centimeters over a stretch of about 80 kilometers south of the epicenter. The officials say the data is almost in line with analysis by the US Geological Survey. The US agency said seismic waves indicated the quake was caused by reverse faulting, in which layers of rock shift at an angle. READ MORE