February 20, 1998 Earthquake: Yar Husain, Astor, Afghanistan-Tajikistan
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Yar Husain, Astor, Afghanistan-Tajikistan on February 20, 1998 at 12:18:06 UTC, 236 km below the surface. It killed 1 person.
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
- February 20, 1998
- Time
- 12:18:06 UTC
- Place
- Yar Husain, Astor, Afghanistan-Tajikistan
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 236 km (147 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 36.479° N, 71.086° E
- Country
- Afghanistan
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Injuries
- 11
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 35
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, Feb 20. One person killed and three injured at Yar Husain, six injured at Rawalpindi and two injured at Peshawar, Pakistan. An earthquake-induced avalanche destroyed 35 houses, including a mosque, left 300 people homeless and killed several dozen cattle and sheep in the Astor area, Kashmir. Damage occurred from Chitral to Swabi, Pakistan, in western Kashmir and in the Rostaq area, Afghanistan. Felt in much of northern Pakistan as far south as Lahore and in northeastern Afghanistan as far as Kabul and Mazar-e Sharif. Felt (V) at Dushanbe and Khorugh, Tajikistan; (IV) at Andijon and Farghona, Uzbekistan; (III) at Bishkek and Osh, Kyrgyzstan. Also felt (III) at Samarqand and Toshkent, Uzbekistan. (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
- July 13, 1990, Pik Lenina, 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
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 5486.