March 14, 1965 Earthquake: Afghanistan

Date

March 14, 1965

Time

15:53:06 UTC

Place

Afghanistan

Magnitude

7.3 (Ms)

Magnitude scales

Ms 7.3 · mb 6.9

Focal depth

219 km (136 mi)

Intensity

VII, very strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

36.300° N, 70.700° E

Country

Afghanistan

Region

Central Asia and Caucasus

USGS record

The USGS’s page for this earthquake

Ms: surface-wave magnitude. mb: body-wave (P-wave) magnitude. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.

Damage

Limited (under about $1 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.

From the USGS event page for iscgem858598. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

1. #1182 Latter, J.H. (1969). Natural Disasters, Advancement of Science 25 (126), p. 362-380.
2. #45 U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1928-1986). United States Earthquakes, Annual publication, published 1928-1986. vol.s for 1928-1965 issued by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey; volumes for 1966-1969 issued by the National Earthquake Information Center; volume for 1970 issued by the National Geophysical Data Center; volumes for 1971-1972 issued by the National Geophysical And Solar-Terrestrial Data Center; volumes for 1973-1980 published jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey; volumes for 1981-1986 published by the U.S. Geological Survey. [on shelf]
3. #1212 Bapat, Arun, R.C. Kulkarni, and S.K. Guha (1983). Catalogue of Earthquakes in India and Neighbourhood, from Historical Period up to 1979. Indian Society of Earthquake Technology, Roorkee, India, 211 p.
4. #1229 Bath, M., and S.J. Duda (1979). Some Aspects of Global Seismicity, Report no. 1-79, Seismological Institute, Uppsala, Sweden, 41 p.

• May 30, 1998, Badakhshan, Takhar, AfghanistanM6.6 · 4,700 deaths · $10 million · 104 km
• February 4, 1998, Dushanbe, Rostaq, Tajikistan, AfghanistanM5.9 · 2,323 deaths · 8,094 houses destroyed · 102 km
• August 31, 2025, Kunar, Nangarhar, AfghanistanM6 · 2,205 deaths · $180 million · 6,782 houses destroyed · 177 km
• March 25, 2002, Baghlan, Nahrin, Hindu Kush, AfghanistanM6.1 · 1,000 deaths · 1,500 houses destroyed · 127 km
• January 31, 1991, Badakhstan, Baghlan, Laghman, Nagarhar, AfghanistanM6.4 · 848 deaths · $36 million · 42 km
• December 16, 1982, Northeastern, AfghanistanM6.6 · 500 deaths · $1 million · 152 km
• October 26, 2015, Hindu Kush, AfghanistanM7.5 · 399 deaths · $109 million · 29,230 houses destroyed · 39 km
• March 3, 2002, Samanghan, Kabul, Rustaq, Hindu Kush, AfghanistanM7.4 · 166 deaths · 300 houses destroyed · 30 km
• June 11, 2012, Hindu Kush, AfghanistanM5.8 · 75 deaths · 143 houses destroyed · 125 km
• July 13, 1990, Pik Lenina, Hindu Kush, AfghanistanM5.6 · 43 deaths · 15 km
• December 30, 1983, Kabul, Samangan, Pakistan, Hindu Kush, AfghanistanM7.2 · 26 deaths · $3 million · 9 km
• March 21, 2023, Laghman, Pakistan, AfghanistanM6.5 · 19 deaths · 22 houses destroyed · 35 km
• March 19, 1997, Bajaur, Chitral, PakistanM4.9 · 15 deaths · 179 km
• April 3, 2026, Kabul, AfghanistanM5.8 · 12 deaths · 5 houses destroyed · 31 km
• June 24, 1972, Sarsangi, Narin Counties, Hindu Kush, AfghanistanM6.1 · 11 deaths · 90 km

Significant earthquakes of 1965The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1965Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 4343. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem858598, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.