Photo: aa.com.tr
An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 struck Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar Province, killing at least 250 people and injuring more than 500 residents, according to NBC, which cited Taliban* officials on the morning of September 1.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the quake occurred around midnight local time, with the epicenter located 27 kilometers from the city of Jalalabad, near the Pakistani border.
Seismologists noted that since the first tremor, repeated aftershocks have been recorded with magnitudes ranging from 4.5 to 5.2. Experts warn that such activity could last for several days — with the possibility that new quakes may be stronger than the initial ones.
Authorities have so far released only preliminary figures for casualties. According to Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman, because the disaster struck in a remote mountainous area, it will take time to obtain accurate information about victims and infrastructure damage. He added that a large-scale rescue operation is underway, with hundreds of people mobilized to assist affected areas.
ToloNews, citing Kunar provincial authorities, reported that the number of dead and injured could be significantly higher, as several villages in Nurgal District were “buried under the earth.” Rescuers also warned that hundreds of other settlements in remote mountain areas might have suffered the same fate.
Teams from the Ministries of Defense, Interior, and Health are currently on the ground. Victims are being airlifted to hospitals in Nangarhar.
By the afternoon of September 1, updated figures were released. Reuters, citing Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry, reported that the earthquake killed at least 622 people and injured 1,500.
