A powerful and shallow 6.3 magnitude earthquake has devastated eastern Afghanistan, killing over 800 people and injuring at least 2,500, according to a Taliban government spokesman. The quake, which struck at 11:47 pm on Sunday, was centered 27 kilometers east-northeast of the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, with most casualties reported in the remote and mountainous Kunar province.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) noted that the quake’s shallow depth of just eight kilometers made it particularly deadly, as such seismic events cause more intense shaking and destruction on the surface. An aftershock was also reported on Monday morning, adding to the fear and chaos in the affected regions.
Rescue Operations Underway Amid Widespread Destruction
“Rescue operations are still underway there, and several villages have been completely destroyed,” said Sharafat Zaman, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health. He added that the official figures for the number of dead and injured are continuously changing as rescue teams reach more remote areas. Medical teams from Kunar, Nangarhar, and the capital, Kabul, have been dispatched to assist with the overwhelming number of casualties.
The majority of Afghans live in low-rise, mud-brick homes that are highly vulnerable to collapse during earthquakes. The tremors were so strong that they were felt not only in Jalalabad but also in Kabul and across the border in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. The disaster has prompted global calls for aid, and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his condolences and offered to provide all possible humanitarian assistance.
A History of Seismic Activity
Afghanistan is highly prone to deadly earthquakes due to its location at the convergence of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain range. The country has a grim history of such natural disasters. Last year, a magnitude 4.3 quake struck in February, and a series of earthquakes in the western part of the country killed over 1,000 people. In October 2023, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake claimed at least 4,000 lives, underscoring the constant threat these natural events pose to the nation’s impoverished and vulnerable population.