At least 622 people have been killed and more than 500 injured after a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Afghanistan late Sunday night, Taliban authorities confirmed Monday, according to a report by NBC News.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the quake hit around midnight local time, about 17 miles from Jalalabad, near the Pakistan border.
Sharafat Zaman, spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health, said the death toll is estimated at 622 but could rise as the quake struck a remote mountainous region where information is slow to emerge. He added that rescue operations are underway, with hundreds of people deployed to assist survivors.
Afghanistan sits on the junction of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, making it highly prone to earthquakes. In addition, frequent landslides in the country’s mountainous eastern provinces complicate rescue efforts further.
Experts noted that the quake struck at a shallow depth of just 5 miles (8 kilometers), making the damage more severe. The BBC reported that at least three aftershocks, ranging between 4.5 and 5.2 in magnitude, were recorded following the main tremor.
Local officials told the BBC that more than 115 injured people have been admitted to hospitals in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces.
Tremors were also felt in the Afghan capital, Kabul, about 200 kilometers from the epicenter, lasting several seconds. The quake was also felt in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, nearly 400 kilometers away.
Afghanistan has faced deadly quakes in recent years. In 2022, a shallow 5.9-magnitude earthquake in the east of the country killed nearly 1,000 people and injured several thousand others.
