December 25, 2002 Earthquake: Jalalabad, Afghanistan
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Jalalabad, Afghanistan on December 25, 2002 at 19:13:42 UTC, 91 km below the surface.
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
- December 25, 2002
- Time
- 19:13:42 UTC
- Place
- Jalalabad, Afghanistan
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 91 km (57 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 35.704° N, 69.868° E
- Country
- Afghanistan
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50) with its tsunami and other effects
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.
Minor damage to dozens of buildings at Jalalabad. Felt
at Bagram and Kabul. Also felt at Islamabad, Pakistan.
Felt (II) at Tashkent, 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
- 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
- February 11, 1999, Lowgar, Vardak, Kabul, 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 16, 2009, Nangarhar, 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 5670.