Powerful earthquake hits Afghanistan, killing at least 20 people and injuring hundreds more, officials say

A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck northern Afghanistan early Monday local time, according to the USGS and local authorities, sparking fears of mass casualties as the country’s Taliban government put the initial death toll at at least 20. 

Afghan Health Ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman said in a statement that more than 20 people were confirmed dead and at least 534 others injured. He warned that the figures were still subject to change, and that all hospitals in the affected region had been put on standby to deal with the emergency.

“Based on initial information, the magnitude of the earthquake was more than 6, and the epicenter was in the Nakhchir district of Samangan province,” the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority said in a statement. The Samangan and neighboring Balkh provinces appeared to be the hardest hit. 

The earthquake also damaged electricity lines in two locations leaving several provinces completely cut off from power that comes from across the border in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, according to utility company Breshna Sherkat.   

Haji Zahid, a spokesman for the office of the Balkh province’s governor, shared a video on social media showing people digging with shovels to find survivors.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported a quake with a magnitude of 6.3 centered at a depth of about 17 miles, and designated the earthquake a “code orange,” indicating significant casualties and extensive economic losses were likely, requiring a national-level response.

Dr. Tedros Adhonom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the United Nations’ World Health Organization, said in a social media post that members of the agency’s team in Afghanistan were “on the ground, supporting delivery of emergency health care” for those injured, adding his “deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones in the deadly earthquake overnight.”

Videos posted on social media appeared to show the jolt lasting almost 20 seconds, and the earthquake was so powerful that it was felt in the capital city of Kabul and other provinces.

The quake caused significant damage to the famed Blue Mosque of Mazar-i-Sharif, according to Zahid, the spokesman for Balkh provincial Governor Muhamad Yousuf Wafa’s office. Zahid shared a video of people assessing the damage to the building, which was still standing.

The temblor also triggered a landslide on the Samangan-Balkh highway, a key transport route, trapping cars and passengers. Videos shared on social media showed massive rocks blocking the highway and a truck engulfed in flames. 

Monday’s temblor was just the latest to hit the earthquake-prone region. 

More than 2,000 people died when a quake struck eastern Afghanistan in August. Most of those affected are still living in tents, according to a recent United Nations report.