A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck near Mazar-e-Sharif, one of Afghanistan’s largest cities, early on Monday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The USGS issued an orange alert under its PAGER system, an automated platform that assesses the potential impact of earthquakes. The alert indicated that “significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread.” Past events at this alert level have typically required a regional or national emergency response, the system noted.
The quake occurred at a depth of 28 kilometers (17.4 miles) near Mazar-e-Sharif, a city with a population of around 523,000, the USGS reported.
Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Agency stated that reports on casualties and damage would be shared later. Reuters said it could not immediately verify the extent of the damage.
Videos shared on X (formerly Twitter) showed ongoing rescue efforts, with emergency workers searching for survivors trapped under rubble. Some footage appeared to show bodies being recovered from the debris.
Thousands of people were killed and injured after a series of earthquakes and aftershocks struck Afghanistan in August, according to the Taliban administration.
Afghanistan is highly prone to earthquakes, as it lies on two major active fault lines capable of causing severe and widespread destruction. In 2015, an earthquake struck northeastern Afghanistan, killing several hundred people across Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, while another in 2023 claimed at least 1,000 lives.
Source: Reuters
