6.0 magnitude earthquake hits Afghanistan, at least 20 killed

At least 20 dead and dozens were injured after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late Sunday (August 31), provincial officials and US seismologists said.The epicentre of the quake, which struck at a relatively shallow depth of eight kilometres (six miles), was located 27 kilometres east-northeast of the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, according to the US Geological Survey.

The quake struck at 11:47 pm (1917 GMT), USGS said.

The quake shook buildings from Kabul to Pakistan’s capital Islamabad around 370 kilometres away for several seconds, AFP journalists said.Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.

Nangarhar province was also hit by flooding overnight Friday to Saturday, which left five people dead and destroyed crops and property, provincial authorities said.

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Afghanistan on October 7, 2023, along with strong aftershocks. The Taliban government estimated that at least 4,000 perished.

The UN gave a far lower figure of about 1,500. It was the deadliest natural disaster to strike Afghanistan in recent memory.