March 4, 1949 Earthquake: Hindu-Kush, West Punjab, Afghanistan
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Hindu-Kush, West Punjab, Afghanistan on March 4, 1949 at 10:19:25 UTC, 230 km below the surface.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- March 4, 1949
- Time
- 10:19:25 UTC
- Place
- Hindu-Kush, West Punjab, Afghanistan
- Magnitude
- 7.5 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 230 km (143 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 36.000° N, 70.500° E
- Country
- Afghanistan
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
March 4, 1949, 10:19:25 UTC, 37 N, 70 E, Hindu-Kush range, Afghanistan, depth 230 km, magnitude 7.5. Destructive in West Punjab. (reference #45)
March 4, 1949, 36 N, 70.5 E, Hindu-Kush Afghanistan, depth 230 km, magnitude 7.5. (reference #1212)
March 4, 1949, 36 N, 70.5 E, Hindukush, magnitude 7.5. (reference #1100)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 30, 1998, Badakhshan, Takhar, Afghanistan
- February 4, 1998, Dushanbe, Rostaq, Tajikistan, Afghanistan
- August 31, 2025, Kunar, Nangarhar, Afghanistan
- March 25, 2002, Baghlan, Nahrin, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
- January 31, 1991, Badakhstan, Baghlan, Laghman, Nagarhar, Afghanistan
- December 16, 1982, Northeastern, Afghanistan
- February 19, 1842, Jalalabad, Afghanistan
- October 26, 2015, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
- March 3, 2002, Samanghan, Kabul, Rustaq, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
- June 11, 2012, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
- July 13, 1990, Pik Lenina, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
- December 30, 1983, Kabul, Samangan, Pakistan, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
- March 21, 2023, Laghman, Pakistan, Afghanistan
- April 24, 2013, Kama, Afghanistan
- March 19, 1997, Bajaur, Chitral, Pakistan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1949The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1949Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 3897.