1998 Afghanistan Earthquake

Date: February 4, 1998 • Location: Fayzabad, Afghanistan

An earthquake registering 5.9 MW struck northern Afghanistan, triggering landslides that killed over 2,300 people and destroyed around 15,000 homes.

An earthquake occurred on 4 February 1998 at 19:03 local time near the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border. The strike-slip shock had a moment magnitude of 5.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). With several thousand dead and hundreds injured, the event's effects were considered extreme by the National Geophysical Data Center. It was felt at Tashkent and Dushanbe, and aftershocks continued for the next seven days.