https://arab.news/c5x3q
- USGS says quake hit at a 28-km depth in Kholm, near Mazar-i Sharif, which has a population of about 523,000
- More than 150 reported injured. Officials warned that the casualty count could increase
MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan: Seven people were killed and 150 injured after an earthquake of 6.3 magnitude struck near one of Afghanistan’s largest cities Mazar-e Sharif early on Monday, the local health directorate said on Monday.
The overnight quake hit at a depth of 28 kilometers (17 miles) in Kholm, near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, according to the the US Geological Survey (USGS).
It was felt in the capital Kabul, witnesses said.
Local authorities broadcast emergency telephone numbers for people to call, but did not immediately report any deaths or injuries.
In Mazar-i-Sharif, many people ran into the street in the middle of the night, fearing their homes might collapse, an AFP correspondent observed.
The Taliban authorities have had to deal with several major quakes since returning to power in 2021, including one in 2023 in the western Herat region on the border with Iran that killed more than 1,500 people and destroyed more than 63,000 homes.
A shallow 6.0-magnitude quake struck this year on August 31 in the country’s east, killing more than 2,200 people — the deadliest tremor in recent Afghan history.
Earthquakes are common in Afghanistan, particularly along the Hindu Kush mountain range, near where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet.
Afghanistan is contending with multiple crises after decades of war: endemic poverty, severe drought and the influx of millions of Afghans forced back home by neighboring Pakistan and Iran.
Many modest Afghan homes are shoddily built and poor infrastructure hampers rescue efforts after natural disasters like quakes.
Since 1900, northeastern Afghanistan has been hit by 12 quakes with a magnitude above 7, according to Brian Baptie, a seismologist with the British Geological Survey.