A powerful overnight earthquake has killed at least 622 people and injured at least 400 in eastern Afghanistan, according to a statement from the Taliban-run Interior Ministry.
The tremor, measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale, was recorded at 11:47 pm local time (12:47 am IST), according to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS). Rescue operations are ongoing in the hardest-hit areas.
A ministry official informed Anadolu that casualties were reported in the Nur Gal, Sawki, Watpur, Manogi, and Chapa Dara districts of Kunar province.
The tremor, measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale, was recorded at 11:47 pm local time (12:47 am IST), according to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS). Rescue operations are ongoing in the hardest-hit areas.
The quake’s epicentre was 36 kilometres (22 miles) north of Basawul, Afghanistan, and it had a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said. It struck at 11:47 pm local time Sunday.
The quake shook buildings from Kabul to Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, approximately 370 kilometres away, for several seconds, AFP journalists reported.
Earlier, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Afghanistan on October 7, 2023, along with strong aftershocks. The Taliban government estimated that at least 4,000 perished.
The UN provided a significantly lower figure of approximately 1,500. It was the deadliest natural disaster to strike Afghanistan in recent memory.
