M4.5 earthquake 12 km SE of Rust?q, Afghanistan
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 12 km SE of Rust?q, Afghanistan on Sat, Jan 20, 1979, 1:52 AM GMT+4:30 (21:22 UTC), 39 km (24 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.7 11 km SSW of Farkhor, Tajikistan. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.5 (mb, body-wave), light
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1979-01-19 21:22:44 UTC
- Depth
- 39.0 km (24.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 37.038° N, 69.921° E
- Region
- Afghanistan
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Stations used
- 13
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.711 km SSW of Farkhor, Tajikistan · 17396 days ago · 29 km deep · 64 km away
- 4.036 km ESE of Farkh?r, Afghanistan · 17387 days ago · 211 km deep · 68 km away
- 4.410 km ESE of Chubek, Tajikistan · 17384 days ago · 41 km deep · 59 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayAfghanistan earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000ygp. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 1:29 PM UTC.