Reviewed by USGSAfghanistan118y ago
M7.7 earthquake 52 km ESE of Farkhār, Afghanistan
Wednesday, July 7, 1909, 21:37:51 UTC · 36.324°N, 70.357°E
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 52 km ESE of Farkhār, Afghanistan on Wednesday, July 7, 1909, 21:37:51 UTC, at a depth of 200.0 km (intermediate). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.7
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 200 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VI
- Strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
5.4 megatons of TNT
That is about 355 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 11,220 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
262 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and Indian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
200 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 8 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.2Hindu Kush region, AfghanistanOctober 6, 1902 · 23 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.124 km SSW of Tirmiz, UzbekistanOctober 24, 1906 · 298 km W of this epicenter
- 7.074 km NE of Bāzārak, AfghanistanOctober 24, 1908 · 62 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.9127 km E of Khorugh, TajikistanOctober 23, 1908 · 273 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.842 km S of Jurm, AfghanistanApril 13, 1907 · 49 km E of this epicenter
- 6.643 km NE of Khorugh, TajikistanDecember 25, 1907 · 211 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.629 km SE of Jurm, AfghanistanApril 16, 1908 · 71 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.557 km NNW of Pārūn, AfghanistanMarch 12, 1908 · 55 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 510 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1842
Jalalabad
19 Feb 1842 · 214 km away
500 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1909
Pakistan
8 Jul 1909 · 214 km away
10 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1832
Afghanistan
22 Jan 1832 · 61 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1874
Afghanistan
18 Oct 1874 · 192 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1909M8.1
Hindu-Kush
7 Jul 1909 · 23 km away · intensity VII
- 1896M7.5
Afghanistan
23 Sep 1896 · 95 km away · intensity VI
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.