Around 500 killed, 1,000 injured in Afghanistan earthquake: State-run media

Injured receiving treatment

Images emerging from Jalalabad captured the immediate aftermath of the devastating earthquake, showing volunteers rushing through hospital wards as they carried an injured man on a stretcher to safety.

In local hospitals, children could be seen receiving urgent medical attention. Take a look:

Number of casualties

Around 500 people have been killed and 1,000 more injured in the earthquake, the country’s state-run broadcaster Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) reported.

Taliban-led health authorities in Kabul, however, said they were still confirming the official toll figure as they worked to reach remote areas.

‘Villages completely destroyed’

The spokesperson of the Afghan Ministry of Public Health Dr Sharafat Zaman said on X that several villages have been completely destroyed as a result of the magnitude 6 earthquake near the borders with Pakistan on Monday.

“The numbers of martyrs and injured are still being updated. Health teams from Kunar, Nangarhar, and the capital Kabul have arrived at the scene,” he added.

Last deadly quake

In 2023, four large earthquakes measuring 6.3 each struck Herat Province in western Afghanistan between October 7 and 15, leaving 2,445 dead, thousands injured, and tens of thousands impacted or requiring aid.

Local officials also stated that 1,320 houses had been damaged or destroyed.

These were the deadliest tremors to rock the quake-prone mountainous country in years. More than 90 per cent of those killed in the quakes were women and children, according to the UNICEF.

The October 2023 quakes in Afghanistan were among the world’s deadliest quakes in 2023, after tremors in Turkey and Syria killed an estimated 50,000 in February.

Felt in Pakistan

According to Dawn, the tremors were felt across several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan’s Punjab in the early hours of Monday. Citing authorities, it mentioned that no casualties or damage were reported so far.

State-run PTV reported that tremors were felt across multiple cities, including Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

According to Dawn, after the tremors, district administrations across Pakistan’s Punjab began inspections of buildings to assess structural safety.

“However, no casualties or damage have been reported so far,” Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Director General Irfan Ali Kathia told the national newspaper.

The PDMA mentioned that its provincial control room and all district emergency operation centres are on 24/7 alert.

Pakistan falls on three major tectonic plates that creates five seismic zones. The intersection of multiple fault lines means that tectonic movements remain a frequent occurrence in the region.

Access to area difficult

The provincial information head in Kunar said that Hundreds of injured were taken to hospital, with figures likely to rise as reports arrived from remote areas with few roads.

“The number of casualties and injuries is high, but since the area is difficult to access, our teams are still on site,” health ministry spokesperson Sharafat Zaman said in a statement.

Initial damage estimates

An orange alert was issued by the USGS’ PAGER system for shaking-related fatalities. Significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread. Past events with this alert level have required a regional or national level response.

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are extremely vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist, it noted.

Recent earthquakes in this area have also caused secondary hazards such as landslides that might have contributed to losses.

The PAGER system also issued a yellow alert for economic losses, indicating estimated economic losses are less than 1% of the GDP of Afghanistan.

PAGER stands for Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response and is an automated system that rapidly estimates the potential impact of significant earthquakes worldwide.

Epicentre and aftershocks

This is a visualisation of the region the quake struck, according to the US Geological Survey, which also reported multiple aftershocks overnight.

At least four aftershocks, ranging from 4.5 to 5.2 on the Richter scale, were recorded in the Goshta and Kunar regions of the country.

Rescuers were working in several districts of the rugged northeastern province of Kunar, where the midnight quake hit at a depth of 10 km (6 miles), to level homes of mud and stone on the border with Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, officials said.

The tremors were classified as either shallow or intermediate earthquakes, depending on the depth.

However, Shallow and intermediate earthquakes are generally more dangerous than deep earthquakes. This is because the seismic waves from shallow earthquakes have a shorter distance to travel to the surface, resulting in stronger ground shaking and potentially more damage to structures, as well as greater casualties.

NCM issues report

A report issued by the UAE’s National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) late Sunday showed the area affected by the poweful shake. Take a look:

It added that the tremor was recorded at 11.17 pm UAE time at a depth of 86.6 kilometres.

Early reports

Early reports showed 30 dead in a single village, the health ministry said, but added that accurate casualty figures had yet to be gathered in an area of scattered hamlets with a long history of earthquakes and flooding.

Among the dead were two children who lost their lives when the roof of their home caved in during the shaking. At least 15 other people were injured, provincial officials said in a statement.

At least 15 other people were injured, provincial officials said in a statement.

The quake shook buildings from Kabul to Pakistan’s capital Islamabad around 370 kilometres away for several seconds.

The quake struck at 11:47 pm (1917 GMT), according to the US Geological Survey.

6.0 magnitude quake strikes Afghanistan

Hundreds are feared dead following a 6 magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan, in a mountainous area close to the border with Pakistan, local officials said on Monday.

The quake hit the Jalalabad area around midnight local time. Indian news media reported that the tremors were felt across Pakistan and some northern parts of India.

It was at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said.

In October 2023, an earthquake in Afghanistan’s western province of Herat killed at least 2,400 people, the Taliban administration said.

Roof caved in

Among the casualties of the powerful shake, there were two children who died when their home’s roof caved in during the shaking.

At least 15 other people were injured, provincial officials said in a statement.

The quake shook buildings from Kabul to Pakistan’s capital Islamabad around 370 kilometres away for several seconds.

The quake struck at 11:47 pm (1917 GMT), according to the US Geological Survey.

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