Powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake kills at least 20 people in northern Afghanistan

A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake shook northern Afghanistan before dawn, killing at least 20 people and injuring 260 others, Afghan health officials said on Monday.

Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health, said at least 20 people died and 260 were injured in the earthquake. Yousaf Hammad, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s disaster management agency, added that most of the injured suffered minor wounds and were discharged after receiving initial treatment.

According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake struck around midnight Monday local time, the USGS said.

The quake’s epicentre was located 22 kilometres west-southwest of Khulm, Afghanistan, at a depth of 28 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake was felt in the capital, Kabul, and several other provinces in Afghanistan.

Rescue and emergency teams deployed

According to the Ministry of Defence in Kabul, rescue and emergency relief teams have arrived in the most damaged areas of the provinces of Balkh and Samangan, where the earthquake occurred, and have now begun to work.

In Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province, footage on social media showed that the earthquake caused some damage to the historic Blue Mosque.

A centuries-old site, the mosque is one of Afghanistan’s most revered religious landmarks and a major gathering place during religious and cultural festivals.

Several bricks fell from the walls, but the mosque remained intact, local officials said.

Devastating earthquakes have rocked Afghanistan in recent years, particularly in isolated areas, straining the country's meagre resources and emergency rescue services.

Buildings in the country tend to be low-rise constructions, mostly of concrete and brick, with homes in rural and outlying areas made from mud bricks and wood and poorly built.

Around 2,200 people were killed on 31 August when an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 struck the eastern part of the country close to the Pakistani border.

And in October 2023, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake with powerful aftershocks killed at least 4,000 people, according to the Taliban administration.