A powerful magnitude 6.3 earthquake yesterday shook northern Afghanistan before dawn, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 500 others, a health official said, adding that the numbers could increase.
The US Geological Survey said the quake’s epicenter was 22km west-southwest of the town of Khulm, and that it struck at 12:59am at a depth of 28km.
Sharafat Zaman, a spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, said 534 injured people and 20 bodies had been brought to hospitals in Balkh and Samangan provinces.
Photo: EPA
Rescuers were on the scene and the figures were changing, he added.
In the nearby province of Badakhshan, the quake partially or completely destroyed 800 houses in one village in the Shahr-e-Bozorg district, said Ihsanullah Kamgar, spokesperson for the provincial police headquarters.
However, given a lack of Internet in the remote area, there were still no accurate casualty figures, he added.
Photo: EPA
Yousaf Hammad, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s disaster management agency, said most of the injured suffered minor wounds and were discharged after treatment.
In the Afghan capital of Kabul, the Ministry of Defense announced that rescue and emergency teams had reached the quake areas in Balkh and Samangan, which suffered the most damage, were transporting the injured and assisting others.
The Taliban government’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, posted on X that the earthquake caused casualties and financial loss.
He said government organizations were working to get needed help.
Afghan officials said the earthquake was also felt in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province, where footage on social media showed damage to the historic Blue Mosque. Several bricks had fallen from the walls, but the mosque remained intact. The centuries-old site is one of Afghanistan’s most revered religious landmarks and a major gathering place during Islamic and cultural festivals.
The quake was felt in Kabul and several other provinces. The Afghan Ministry of Defense said that a rockslide briefly blocked a main mountain highway linking Kabul with Mazar-e-Sharif, but the road was later reopened. It said some people who were injured and trapped along the highway were transported to the hospital.
The UN in Afghanistan said on X that the temblor came just weeks after a deadly earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan.
The UN said its teams were on the ground assessing needs and delivering urgent aid.
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit eastern Afghanistan on Aug. 31 near the border with Pakistan, killing more than 2,200 people. On Oct. 7, 2023, a magnitude 6.3 quake followed by strong aftershocks left at least 4,000 people dead, the Taliban government said.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
RSS