Reviewed by USGSAfghanistan116y ago
M7.4 earthquake 50 km SSW of Ashkāsham, Afghanistan
Tuesday, July 4, 1911, 13:33:18 UTC · 36.282°N, 71.262°E
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck 50 km SSW of Ashkāsham, Afghanistan on Tuesday, July 4, 1911, 13:33:18 UTC, at a depth of 100.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.7 on July 7, 1909.
- Magnitude
- 7.4
- Major · mB
- Depth
- 100 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
1.9 megatons of TNT
That is about 126 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3,981 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
207 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
100 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 9 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.752 km ESE of Farkhār, AfghanistanJuly 7, 1909 · 81 km W of this epicenter
- 7.2120 km W of Murghob, TajikistanFebruary 18, 1911 · 252 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2Hindu Kush region, AfghanistanOctober 6, 1902 · 72 km W of this epicenter
- 7.074 km NE of Bāzārak, AfghanistanOctober 24, 1908 · 122 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.9127 km E of Khorugh, TajikistanOctober 23, 1908 · 211 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.842 km S of Jurm, AfghanistanApril 13, 1907 · 41 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.643 km NE of Khorugh, TajikistanDecember 25, 1907 · 173 km N of this epicenter
- 6.629 km SE of Jurm, AfghanistanApril 16, 1908 · 46 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 828 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1842
Jalalabad
19 Feb 1842 · 220 km away
500 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1911M7.2
Usoy, Barchidiv, Posor, Nisur
18 Feb 1911 · 252 km away
318 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1909
Pakistan
8 Jul 1909 · 141 km away
10 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1832
Afghanistan
22 Jan 1832 · 34 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1874
Afghanistan
18 Oct 1874 · 249 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1909M8.1
Hindu-Kush
7 Jul 1909 · 72 km away · intensity VII
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.