Reviewed by USGSAfghanistan116y ago
M6.3 earthquake 58 km SSW of Jurm, Afghanistan
Wednesday, May 22, 1912, 23:08:20 UTC · 36.360°N, 70.653°E
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 58 km SSW of Jurm, Afghanistan on Wednesday, May 22, 1912, 23:08:20 UTC, at a depth of 205.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.8 on April 25, 1912.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
36 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 75 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
246 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 11 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 · 27 km W of this epicenter
- 7.450 km SSW of Ashkāsham, AfghanistanJuly 4, 1911 · 55 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2120 km W of Murghob, TajikistanFebruary 18, 1911 · 275 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2Hindu Kush region, AfghanistanOctober 6, 1902 · 21 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.074 km NE of Bāzārak, AfghanistanOctober 24, 1908 · 81 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.9127 km E of Khorugh, TajikistanOctober 23, 1908 · 249 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.842 km S of Jurm, AfghanistanApril 13, 1907 · 24 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.878 km NNW of Pārūn, AfghanistanApril 25, 1912 · 29 km S 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 · 218 km away
500 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1911M7.2
Usoy, Barchidiv, Posor, Nisur
18 Feb 1911 · 275 km away
318 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1909
Pakistan
8 Jul 1909 · 192 km away
10 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1832
Afghanistan
22 Jan 1832 · 35 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1874
Afghanistan
18 Oct 1874 · 213 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1909M8.1
Hindu-Kush
7 Jul 1909 · 21 km away · intensity VII
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.