KABUL: A powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan late Sunday, killing at least 250 people and injuring 500 across Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, officials said Monday.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake hit at 11:47 p.m. local time with a shallow depth of 8 kilometers. It located the epicenter 27 kilometers east of Jalalabad in Nangarhar.
Tremors shook Kabul, northern Pakistan — including Islamabad, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — and parts of India. Residents rushed outdoors in panic.
Afghanistan’s state-run Bakhtar News Agency confirmed 250 deaths and 500 injuries. Officials warned the toll could rise as rescuers reach remote mountainous districts.
In Kunar, one of the worst-hit provinces, mud-and-stone houses collapsed and trapped families. “Whole villages have been flattened,” a resident said. Landslides blocked key routes and slowed relief operations.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the quake caused “severe loss of life and property.” He said Taliban relief teams were working in affected districts and appealed for international aid, including medical supplies, tents, and rescue equipment. Helicopters from Nangarhar Airport began airlifting the injured to hospitals in Kabul and nearby cities.
Residents in Nangarhar reported at least 13 aftershocks through the night. Families remained outdoors in fear of further collapses as emergency crews struggled to reach cut-off areas.
“This is a poor, mountainous region where houses made of mud and stone cannot withstand shallow earthquakes. The timing — late at night — made the disaster even deadlier,” Al Jazeera correspondent Kamal Hyder reported from Pakistan.
Seismologists noted that eastern Afghanistan lies on the collision zone of the Indian and Eurasian plates. Chris Elders, professor of earth sciences at Curtin University, said the steep terrain made the region highly prone to landslides. “It’s not only the buildings that become unstable, but the hillsides as well. That’s what makes earthquakes here so destructive,” he said.
Military helicopters and rescue teams continued evacuations and aid deliveries on Monday. Officials said landslides and disrupted communications could delay a full assessment of the damage.
Afghanistan’s interim government repeated its call for urgent global humanitarian assistance as it struggles to cope with one of the country’s deadliest quakes in recent years.
