January 31, 1991 Earthquake: Badakhstan, Baghlan, Laghman, Nagarhar, Afghanistan
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Badakhstan, Baghlan, Laghman, Nagarhar, Afghanistan on January 31, 1991 at 23:03:33 UTC, 142 km below the surface. It killed 848 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
- January 31, 1991
- Time
- 23:03:33 UTC
- Place
- Badakhstan, Baghlan, Laghman, Nagarhar, Afghanistan
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (mb)
- Focal depth
- 142 km (88 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 35.993° N, 70.423° E
- Country
- Afghanistan
The toll
- Deaths
- 848
- Injuries
- 200
- Damage
- $36 million
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
- Houses damaged
- 2,000
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.
1991, Jan 31. Estimated 200-400 people killed, many injured and many homes destroyed or damaged in Konar, Nangarhar and Badakhshan Provinces, Afghanistan. At least 300 people killed, hundreds injured and several thousand houses damaged in the Malakand-Chitral-Peshawar area, Pakistan. Three people died of heart attacks, severe damage (VII) and landslides occurred in the Khorog area, USSR. Felt (VI) at Ishkashim, Parkhar, Dushanbe, Garm, Dzhirgatal, Lyangar and Gissar; (V) at Shaartuz, Sherkent, Gezan, Leninabad, Tashkent and Namangan; (IV) at Chimkent; (III) at Dzhambul and Frunze, USSR. Felt throughout northeastern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan and northern India as far away as Delhi. Also felt throughout Tajikistan and eastern Uzbekistan, USSR. (reference #1053)
1991, Jan 31. 545 killed, $26 million damage in Afghanistan; 300 killed, $10 million damage in Pakistan. (reference #1250)
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
- 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
- April 3, 2026, Kabul, Afghanistan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1991The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1991Recent 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 5274.