A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck northern Afghanistan overnight Sunday (Nov 2) into Monday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, two months after a tremor in the impoverished nation’s east killed over 2,200 people.
The overnight quake hit at a depth of 28km in Kholm, near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, according to the USGS.
The USGS issued an orange alert in its PAGER system, which is an automated system that produces information on the impact of earthquakes, and indicated that “significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread”.
It was felt by AFP correspondents in the capital, Kabul.
Local authorities broadcast emergency telephone numbers for people to call, but did not immediately report any deaths or injuries.
In Mazar-i-Sharif – which has a population of 523,000 – many people ran into the street in the middle of the night, fearing their homes might collapse, an AFP correspondent observed.
The country’s national disaster management agency said reports on casualties and damage would be shared later. Reuters could not immediately verify the extent of damage from the earthquake.
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 Aug 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 neighbouring 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.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/earthquake-northern-afghanistan-tremors-usgs-6-magnitude-5441091
