Afghanistan earthquake leaves 20 dead and more than 500 injured

A powerful earthquake has killed at least 20 people in northern Afghanistan, authorities said, just months after another deadly quake left the country reeling.

The US Geological Survey reported that the 6.3-magnitude earthquake occurred last night at a depth of 28 kilometers and its epicenter was near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

Sharafat Zaman, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, told reporters: “Based on the information available to us so far, 534 people have been infected and more than 20 people have been transferred to hospitals in Samangan and Balkh provinces.”

Residents of Mazar-i-Sharif, one of the largest northern cities in Afghanistan, took to the streets for fear of their homes collapsing, according to an Agence France-Presse correspondent.

The city's famous Blue Mosque, a landmark dating back to the 15th century and known for its vibrant tiles, was also damaged, according to what an Agence France-Presse journalist witnessed.

The 6.3-magnitude earthquake occurred at a depth of 28 kilometers, and its epicenter was near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

Parts of the structure, especially one of its minarets, were destroyed and scattered across the precincts of the mosque, which is one of the few remaining tourist sites in the country.

Reporters in the capital, Kabul, about 420 kilometers to the south, said they felt shaking.

Weak communications networks and infrastructure in Afghanistan's mountainous regions have hampered disaster response in the past, preventing authorities for hours or even days from reaching remote villages to assess the extent of damage.

Watch: Afghans dig among the rubble after the devastating earthquake

The Defense Ministry said it had cleared and reopened the main road between Mazar-i-Sharif and the town of Kholm, and that it had rescued people stranded there overnight.

“Many homes have been destroyed, and significant material losses have been incurred,” Hamdullah Fatatar, deputy spokesman for the Taliban authorities, wrote on the X website, without specifying a figure.

It is the latest natural disaster for the Taliban government, which has faced three major deadly earthquakes since taking over Afghanistan in 2021, even as foreign aid that formed the backbone of the country's economy has declined dramatically.

In August, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake in the east of the country destroyed mountain villages and killed more than 2,200 people.

Large tremors in western Herat, near the Iranian border, in 2023, and in eastern Nangarhar province in 2022, killed hundreds and destroyed thousands of homes.

Damaged shops along the highway in Tang-e Tashkurgan

The United Nations and relief agencies have warned of increasing hunger among the Afghan population.

The isolated country is suffering from a humanitarian crisis exacerbated by drought, economic restrictions on the banking sector, and the deportation of millions of Afghan citizens from neighboring Iran and Pakistan.

Earthquakes are common in Afghanistan, especially along the Hindu Kush mountain range, near where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet.

Many homes in this predominantly rural country – ravaged by decades of war – are poorly built.

It often takes hours or days to travel along steep roads and trails to remote villages, which are often cut off from assistance during disasters or bad weather.

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