Earthquake in Eastern Afghanistan Claims Hundreds of Lives

KABUL, Sept. 1 (Reuters)-A powerful magnitude-6.0 earthquake struck Afghanistan’s rugged eastern provinces late Sunday, killing at least 250 people and injuring more than 500 as rescue teams scrambled to reach remote mountain villages in Kunar and Nangarhar.

The United States Geological Survey recorded the tremor at 11:47 p.m. local time (19:17 UTC), locating the epicenter 27 km east-northeast of Jalalabad at a shallow depth of 8 km. Two strong aftershocks-measuring 5.2 and 4.5-followed within 20 minutes.

Provincial authorities in Kunar reported that entire mud-brick homes collapsed under the violent shaking, leaving scores of families trapped under rubble. Officials said landslides blocked key mountain roads, forcing rescuers to airlift survivors by helicopter and hampering ground convoys.

“Sadly, tonight’s earthquake has caused loss of life and property damage in several of our eastern provinces,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on X, adding that support teams from Kabul and neighboring regions were en route.

Health ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman told Reuters that “the toll of casualties and injuries is significant,” and cautioned that final numbers would climb as aid workers reach isolated villages. Early government estimates cited at least 30 fatalities in a single settlement within Kunar, but comprehensive surveys remain incomplete.

The tremor was felt as far as Kabul-over 200 km from the epicenter-and in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, nearly 400 km away, where buildings swayed for several seconds. Officials warned of additional aftershocks and urged residents to stay clear of damaged structures.

Afghanistan lies at the nexus of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, making it prone to severe seismic events. A similar 6.3-magnitude quake in October 2023 caused more than 2,000 deaths in the country’s west, marking one of its worst natural disasters in decades.