KABUL — Tons of of individuals had been killed and greater than a thousand injured when a 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit Afghanistan’s mountainous jap area on Sunday, officers stated, with rescuers scrambling to achieve hard-hit, distant communities.
At the very least 610 individuals had been killed and 1,300 injured in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, close to the Pakistan border, Abdul Mateen Qaney, spokesperson for the Afghan Inside Ministry stated in a press release to CNN. A “giant quantity” of homes had been destroyed in Kunar, he added.
Aid groups have struggled to achieve a number of the extra distant communities and their progress has been hampered by landslides, reported the Taliban’s state-run Bakhtar Information Company (BNA).
The earthquake hit simply earlier than midnight, 27 kilometers (16.77 miles) north-east of Jalalabad, a metropolis of about 200,000 individuals in Nangarhar Province, and at a relatively shallow depth of 8km (4.97 miles), in response to the USA Geological Survey (USGS).
On Monday, native officers stated at the least 250 individuals had been killed and greater than 500 others injured in a number of districts of the mountainous northeastern Kunar province, BNA reported.
“The variety of casualties and accidents is excessive, however because the space is troublesome to entry, our groups are nonetheless on web site,” well being ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman stated in a press release, in response to Reuters information company.
Practically half 1,000,000 individuals doubtless felt sturdy to very sturdy shaking, which may end up in appreciable injury to poorly constructed buildings, in response to the USGS.
Ahmad Zameer, 41, a resident in Kabul, instructed CNN the earthquake was sturdy and jolted his neighborhood greater than 100 miles from the epicenter. He added that everybody from the close by residence buildings rushed to the road in concern of being trapped inside.
“Sadly, tonight’s earthquake has had human casualties and monetary damages in a few of our jap provinces,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid posted on X.
“Proper now, native officers and residents are making all of the efforts to rescue affected ones. Help groups from the capital and close by provinces are additionally on their means. All accessible assets will probably be used for the rescue and aid of the individuals,” he added.
The earthquake was additionally felt in a number of cities in neighboring Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces, the Pakistan Meteorological Division stated in a press release.
The area was hit by at the least 5 aftershocks, the strongest measuring 5.2-magnitude within the hours after the preliminary quake, in response to USGS.
An orange alert was issued by the USGS PAGER system, which predicts financial and human loss after earthquakes.
“Vital casualties are doubtless and the catastrophe is probably widespread. Previous occasions with this alert stage have required a regional or nationwide stage response,” it stated.
Afghanistan has a protracted historical past of earthquakes, a lot of which occur within the mountainous Hindu Kush area that borders Pakistan. In October 2023, greater than 2,000 individuals died after a strong 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck western Afghanistan – one of many deadliest quakes to hit the nation lately. – CNN
