July 13, 1990 Earthquake: Pik Lenina, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Pik Lenina, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan on July 13, 1990 at 14:20:43 UTC, 217 km below the surface. It killed 43 people.
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
- July 13, 1990
- Time
- 14:20:43 UTC
- Place
- Pik Lenina, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
- Magnitude
- 5.6 (mb)
- Focal depth
- 217 km (135 mi)
- Intensity
- 4 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 36.415° N, 70.789° E
- Country
- Afghanistan
The toll
- Deaths
- 43
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.
1990. July 13. At least 43 mountain climbers were killed on Pik Lenina, USSR by an avalanche which was triggered by the earthquake. Felt (IV) at Dushanbe, Garm, Gezan, Gissar, Khorag, Kulyab, Langor, Leninabad, Namangon and Pyandzh; (III) at Andizhan, Fergana and Ura-Tyube; (II) at Tashkent, USSR. (reference #1053)
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
- October 26, 2015, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
- March 3, 2002, Samanghan, Kabul, Rustaq, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
- June 11, 2012, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
- December 30, 1983, Kabul, Samangan, Pakistan, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
- March 21, 2023, Laghman, Pakistan, Afghanistan
- March 19, 1997, Bajaur, Chitral, Pakistan
- April 3, 2026, Kabul, Afghanistan
- June 24, 1972, Sarsangi, Narin Counties, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
- October 25, 1990, Chitral, Mardan, Malakand, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1990The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1990Recent 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 5252.