March 25, 2002 Earthquake: Baghlan, Nahrin, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Baghlan, Nahrin, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan on March 25, 2002 at 14:56:33 UTC, 8 km below the surface. It killed 1,000 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
- March 25, 2002
- Time
- 14:56:33 UTC
- Place
- Baghlan, Nahrin, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
- Magnitude
- 6.1 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 8 km (5 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 36.062° N, 69.315° E
- Country
- Afghanistan
The toll
- Deaths
- 1,000
- Injuries
- 200
- Damage
- Extreme (about $25 million or more)
- Houses destroyed
- 1,500
- Houses damaged
- 1,500
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.
At least 1,000 people killed, several hundred injured and several thousand homeless in Baghlan Province. At least 1,500 houses destroyed or damaged at Nahrin and several hundred more in other areas of Baghlan Province. Landslides blocked many roads in the epicentral area. Felt strongly in much of
northern Afghanistan. Also felt in the Islamabad-Peshawar area, Pakistan and at Dushanbe, Tajikistan. (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
- 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 9, 1956, Kabul, Afghanistan
- June 11, 2012, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
- March 19, 1976, Shamagan Province, Hindu-Kush, Afghanistan
- July 13, 1990, Pik Lenina, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
- December 30, 1983, Kabul, Samangan, Pakistan, Hindu Kush, Afghanistan
- November 2, 2025, Northern, Afghanistan
- March 21, 2023, Laghman, Pakistan, Afghanistan
- April 24, 2013, Kama, Afghanistan
- April 3, 2026, Kabul, Afghanistan
More
Significant earthquakes of 2002The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2002Recent 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 5626.