May 30, 1998 Earthquake: Badakhshan, Takhar, Afghanistan
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Badakhshan, Takhar, Afghanistan on May 30, 1998 at 06:22:28 UTC, 33 km below the surface. It killed 4,700 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
- May 30, 1998
- Time
- 06:22:28 UTC
- Place
- Badakhshan, Takhar, Afghanistan
- Magnitude
- 6.6 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 37.106° N, 70.110° E
- Country
- Afghanistan
The toll
- Deaths
- 4,700
- Injuries
- Very many (over 1,000)
- Damage
- $10 million
- Houses destroyed
- Very many (over 1,000)
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.
1998, May 30. At least 4,000 people killed, many thousands injured and homeless in Badakhshan and Takhar Provinces, Afghanistan. Felt strongly at Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan. Felt at Kabul, Afghanistan. Felt (III) at Andijon and Samarqand; (II) at Toshkent, Uzbekistan. Also felt at Islamabad, Peshawar and Rawalpindi, Pakistan and Dushanbe, Tajikistan. (reference #1053)
4700 deaths, $10 million damage. (reference #1250)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- February 4, 1998, Dushanbe, Rostaq, Tajikistan, 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
- January 22, 1989, Sharora, Gissar, Tajikistan
- 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 3, 2026, Kabul, Afghanistan
- June 24, 1972, Sarsangi, Narin Counties, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
- April 10, 2016, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Afghanistan
- October 22, 2009, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1998The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1998Recent 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 5495.