The 2001 southern Peru earthquake occurred at 20:33:15 UTC on June 23 with a moment magnitude of 8.4 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XII (Extreme). The quake affected the Peruvian regions of Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna. It was the most devastating earthquake in Peru since the catastrophic 1970 Ancash earthquake and globally the largest earthquake since the 1965 Rat Islands earthquake.
The 1974 Pattan earthquake occurred in the rugged and isolated Hunza, Hazara and Swat districts of northern Pakistan at 12:11 UTC on 28 December 1974. The 6.2 surface-wave magnitude quake had a shallow focal depth of 22 km and was followed by numerous aftershocks. An official estimate of the number killed was 5,300 with approximately 17,000 injured, and around 4,400 homes were destroyed. A total of 97,000 were reported affected by the tremor. Most of the destruction was centered on the village of Pattan. The village was almost completely destroyed.
An earthquake occurred at on 8 October 2005 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a territory under Pakistan. Its epicenter was 19 km northeast of the city of Muzaffarabad, and 90 km north north-east of Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, and also affected nearby Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and some areas of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It registered a moment magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale and had a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). The earthquake was also felt in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, India and the Xinjiang region. The severity of the damage caused by the earthquake is attributed to severe upthrust. Although not the largest earthquake to hit this region in terms of magnitude it is considered the deadliest, surpassing the 1935 Quetta earthquake. Sources indicate that the official death toll in this quake in Pakistan was between 73,276 and 87,350, with some estimates being as high as over 100,000 dead. In India, 1,360 people were killed, while 6,266 people were injured. Three and a half million people were left without shelter, and approximately 138,000 people were injured in the quake.
The 2002 Hindu Kush earthquakes struck in northern Afghanistan during the month of March. At least 166 people were killed with a very large and intermediate-depth mainshock on March 3. Three weeks later, at least 1,200 were killed during a moderate but shallow event that had a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. The M7.4 and M6.1 reverse events were focused in the Hindu Kush mountain range area.
The February 1998 Afghanistan earthquake occurred at near the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border. The strike-slip shock had a moment magnitude of 5.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). With several thousand dead and hundreds injured, the event's effects were considered extreme by the National Geophysical Data Center. It was felt at Tashkent and Dushanbe, and aftershocks continued for the next seven days.
The 2008 Peloponnese earthquake killed two people, injured more than 220 and left at least 2,000 people homeless in north western Peloponnese, Greece, on June 8. The earthquake hit the area at 1525 EET, with a moment magnitude of 6.5, according to the Athens Geodynamic Institute. It was strongly felt as far away as in Athens and in parts of southern Italy. The US Geological Survey reported that the quake had a magnitude of 6.4. The epicenter of the tremor was located about 15 miles (32 km) southwest of the Greek port city of Patras, at a depth of 16 km. Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos dispatched rescue and recovery teams, the Red Cross and units of the army in order to assess the damage and the needs of survivors in the earthquake affected areas.
The Qayen earthquake, also known as the Ardekul or Qaen earthquake, struck northern Iran's Khorasan Province in the vicinity of Qaen on May 10, 1997, at 07:57 UTC. The largest in the area since 1990, the earthquake registered 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale and was centered approximately 270 kilometers (170 mi) south of Mashhad on the village of Ardekul. The third earthquake that year to cause severe damage, it devastated the Birjand–Qayen region, killing 1,567 and injuring more than 2,300. The earthquake—which left 50,000 homeless and damaged or destroyed over 15,000 homes—was described as the deadliest of 1997 by the United States Geological Survey. Some 155 aftershocks caused further destruction and drove away survivors. The earthquake was later discovered to have been caused by a rupture along a fault that runs underneath the Iran–Afghanistan border.
The following is a summary of significant earthquakes during the 21st century. In terms of fatalities, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was the most destructive event with 227,898 confirmed fatalities, followed by the 2010 Haiti earthquake with about 160,000 fatalities, the 2008 Sichuan earthquake with 87,587 fatalities, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake suffered by Pakistan with 87,351 fatalities, and the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes with at least 59,488 fatalities.
Striking southern Italy on 8 September, the 1905 Calabria earthquake had a moment magnitude of 7.2 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme). The first major earthquake of the 20th century, it severely damaged parts of Lipari, Messina Province and a large area between Cosenza and Nicotera and killed between 557 and 2,500 people.
The 2010 Afghanistan earthquake occurred on April 18 with a moment magnitude of 5.6. The earthquake could be felt in Mazar-i-Sharif, Kabul, and elsewhere in Afghanistan, as well as in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Eleven people were killed and more than 70 were injured. More than 2,000 houses were destroyed.
The 1949 Khait (Hoit) earthquake occurred at 09:45 local time on 10 July in Gharm Oblast of the Tajik SSR of the Soviet Union. It had a magnitude of 7.5 and triggered a series of landslides that together led to 7,200 deaths.
The 2011 Sikkim earthquake occurred with a moment magnitude of 6.9 and was centered within the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, near the border of Nepal and the Indian state of Sikkim, at on Sunday, 18 September. The earthquake was felt across northeastern India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and southern Tibet.
The 2015 Afghanistan avalanches were a series of devastating snow avalanches that occurred in late February 2015 across northeastern Afghanistan, primarily affecting four provinces. The hardest hit was Panjshir Province, where entire villages were buried under the snow. The disaster claimed the lives of up to 308 people, making it one of the deadliest avalanches in Afghanistan's history. The avalanches also impacted Parwan Province, causing widespread destruction and further complicating rescue efforts in the remote, mountainous regions.
A major earthquake occurred in Nepal on 12 May 2015 at 12:50 pm local time with a moment magnitude of 7.3, 18 kilometres (11 mi) southeast of Kodari. The epicenter was on the border of Dolakha and Sindhupalchowk, two districts of Nepal. This earthquake occurred on the same fault as the larger magnitude 7.8 earthquake of 25 April, but further east than the original quake. As such, it is considered to be an aftershock of the April quake. It struck at a depth of 18.5 km (11.5 mi). Shaking was felt in northern parts of India including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Tremors were felt as far as about 2,400 km away from the epicenter in Chennai.
The October 2015 Hindu Kush earthquake was a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that struck South Asia on 26 October 2015, at 13:39 AFT with the epicenter 45 km north of Kuran wa Munjan, Afghanistan, at a depth of 231.0 km.
The 1991 Hindu Kush earthquake severely affected Afghanistan, Pakistan and the USSR on 1 February. It was an intermediate-depth earthquake with a hypocenter 143.2 km (89.0 mi) beneath the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan. The shock measured 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). The reverse-faulting earthquake occurred in a seismically active region associated with faulting within a deforming oceanic plate at depth.
On 29 November, at 14:10 UTC, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the southern coast of Taliabu Island Regency in North Maluku, Indonesia. At least 41 people were killed on the nearby islands and a tsunami was triggered. Several hundred homes, buildings and offices were damaged or destroyed.
A 4.0-kilometre (2.5 mi) deep earthquake measuring magnitude (Mw ) 6.2 struck southeastern Afghanistan on 22 June 2022 at 01:24:36 AFT. The earthquake had a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). There were 1,052–1,163 deaths and 1,627–2,976 injured in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The worst affected provinces in Afghanistan were Paktika, Paktia, Khost and Nangarhar. Casualties and damage also occurred in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. At least 10,000 homes collapsed or were severely damaged. The earthquake's shallow hypocenter, proximity to populated areas and low building quality contributed to its destructive effects. Shaking was felt over 500 km (310 mi) away by at least 119 million people, including Pakistan's Punjab and parts of India and Iran.
The 1985 Kayrakkum earthquake struck Soviet Tajikistan on October 13 at about 22:00 local time. The earthquake measured Mw 5.8 and struck at a depth of 17.1 km (10.6 mi). At least 29 people died, over 80 were injured and another 8,000 were made homeless. Damage totaled $US200 million. Figures of the casualties were not disclosed until the following month.
The 1956 Afghanistan earthquake occurred in the early morning of 10 June 1956, causing considerable damage and casualties in the area of Kabul, Bamyan and the Hindu Kush mountain range. It had a magnitude of 7.3 on the surface-wave magnitude scale. The total number of deaths were between 300 and as high as 900. According to Radio Afghanistan it was the heaviest registered earthquake ever in Afghanistan.
