A powerful earthquake has killed at least 20 people and injured more than 500 in northern Afghanistan, authorities confirmed on Monday. The disaster comes only months after another devastating quake that left the country struggling to recover.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the 6.3-magnitude tremor struck overnight at a depth of 28 kilometres (17 miles), with its epicentre located near Mazar-i-Sharif.
Health ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman told reporters that “534 people have been injured and more than 20 fatalities have been taken to hospitals in Samangan and Balkh provinces.”
Residents in Mazar-i-Sharif fled into the streets as buildings shook. The city’s iconic 15th-century Blue Mosque also suffered damage, with parts of one minaret collapsing and debris scattered across its courtyard.
Shaking was felt as far as Kabul, roughly 420 kilometres to the south.
Efforts to assess the full scale of destruction have been slowed by Afghanistan’s weak communication networks and rugged terrain, which frequently delay responses to emergencies in remote areas.
The defence ministry reported clearing the main road between Mazar-i-Sharif and Kholm and rescuing several stranded travellers. Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said numerous homes were destroyed and “significant material losses” recorded, though exact figures were not provided.
The quake adds to a series of natural disasters Afghanistan has faced since 2021. In August, a shallow 6.0-magnitude earthquake in the east flattened entire mountainside villages and killed more than 2,200 people. The World Bank estimated that disaster caused $183 million in damage.
Afghanistan, located along the seismically active Hindu Kush region where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet, experiences frequent earthquakes. Major tremors in Herat in 2023 and in Nangarhar in 2022 each resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of destroyed homes.
Compounding the impact of natural disasters, the country continues to grapple with a severe humanitarian crisis driven by drought, economic restrictions, and the return of millions of Afghans from Iran and Pakistan. Aid agencies warn that hunger levels are rising across the nation.
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