Reviewed by USGSAfghanistan116y ago
M6.8 earthquake 78 km NNW of Pārūn, Afghanistan
Thursday, April 25, 1912, 10:27:46 UTC · 36.106°N, 70.714°E
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 78 km NNW of Pārūn, Afghanistan on Thursday, April 25, 1912, 10:27:46 UTC, at a depth of 205.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.4 on July 4, 1911.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Strong · ms
- Depth
- 205 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
201 kilotons of TNT
That is about 13 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 422 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
223 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
205 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 100 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.3 on May 22, 1912. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 10 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 · 40 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.450 km SSW of Ashkāsham, AfghanistanJuly 4, 1911 · 53 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2120 km W of Murghob, TajikistanFebruary 18, 1911 · 294 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2Hindu Kush region, AfghanistanOctober 6, 1902 · 48 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.074 km NE of Bāzārak, AfghanistanOctober 24, 1908 · 69 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.9127 km E of Khorugh, TajikistanOctober 23, 1908 · 261 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.842 km S of Jurm, AfghanistanApril 13, 1907 · 44 km N of this epicenter
- 6.643 km NE of Khorugh, TajikistanDecember 25, 1907 · 211 km NE 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 · 191 km away
500 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1911M7.2
Usoy, Barchidiv, Posor, Nisur
18 Feb 1911 · 294 km away
318 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1909
Pakistan
8 Jul 1909 · 175 km away
10 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1832
Afghanistan
22 Jan 1832 · 51 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1874
Afghanistan
18 Oct 1874 · 198 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1909M8.1
Hindu-Kush
7 Jul 1909 · 48 km away · intensity VII
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.