Eight dead as earthquake hits Afghanistan, Pakistan
The 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook the north and east of Afghanistan and the west of Pakistan.
A spokesman for Kabul’s governor said at least eight people were killed.
The region is very seismically active, and earthquakes have killed thousands of people in recent years.
The epicenter of Friday’s earthquake was in the Hindu Kush Mountain Range, about 150 kilometers east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center and the United States Geological Survey.
The earthquake, whose epicenter was at a depth of more than 180 kilometers, was felt in a large part of Afghanistan and Pakistan. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the earthquake was also felt in Islamabad, Peshawar, Chitral, Swat and Shangla districts.
Afghanistan Ministry of Health spokesman Sharafat Zaman said Kabul and provincial health authorities were alerted.
Last August, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck a remote, mountainous part of eastern Afghanistan, killing more than 2,200 people, destroying villages and trapping people under rubble. Most of the casualties occurred in Kunar province, where people often live in wooden and adobe houses along steep valleys.
In November, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan’s northern Samangan province ultimately killed 27 people and injured more than 950 people. The earthquake also damaged historical sites such as the famous Blue Mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, and the Bagh-e-Jahan Nama Palace in Khulm.
The 6.3 magnitude earthquake that occurred in western Afghanistan on October 7, 2023 and the strong aftershocks that followed caused the deaths of thousands of people.
Impoverished Afghanistan often faces difficulty responding to natural disasters, especially in remote areas. Most houses in rural and remote areas are made of mud bricks and wood, and many are poorly constructed.
