Afghan govt says quake kills 20, injures over 500

SAMANGAN, Afghanistan – A strong earthquake struck northern Afghanistan overnight, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 500, authorities said Monday, just months after another deadly tremor hit the country.

The 6.3-magnitude quake occurred at a depth of 28 kilometres (17 miles), with its epicentre near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, according to the US Geological Survey.

"Based on the information we have so far, 534 people have been injured and more than 20 fatalities have been taken to hospitals in Samangan and Balkh provinces," health ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman told journalists.

In Mazar-i-Sharif, one of Afghanistan's largest northern cities, residents rushed into the streets, while the city's famed 15th-century Blue Mosque suffered damage, with pieces from one of its minarets scattered across the grounds.

Correspondents in the capital, Kabul, around 420 kilometres south, also reported feeling the shaking.

Poor communication networks and infrastructure in Afghanistan’s mountainous regions have historically hampered disaster responses, delaying assessments and rescue efforts in remote villages. The defence ministry said it had cleared and reopened the main road between Mazar-i-Sharif and the town of Kholm, rescuing people stranded overnight.

"Numerous homes have been destroyed, and significant material losses have been incurred," Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat wrote on X, without providing specific figures.

This earthquake is the latest natural disaster for Afghanistan, which has faced three major deadly tremors since the Taliban took over in 2021, amid a collapse in foreign aid—the backbone of the country’s economy. In August, a 6.0-magnitude quake in eastern Afghanistan killed more than 2,200 people and caused an estimated $183 million in damage, according to the World Bank.

Earthquakes are common along the Hindu Kush Mountain range, where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet. Previous large tremors in Herat (2023) and Nangarhar (2022) also killed hundreds and destroyed thousands of homes.

Many of Afghanistan's homes are poorly constructed, and the country continues to face a humanitarian crisis compounded by drought, economic restrictions, and the return of millions of Afghans from neighbouring countries, raising concerns about rising hunger, the United Nations and aid agencies have warned.

–BSS/AFP