An earthquake shook northern Afghanistan, leaving at least 20 people dead, 320 injured and damaging one of the country’s most beautiful mosques, local authorities said.
Families were woken up in the early hours of Monday (3), local time, with a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hitting the vicinity of Mazar-i-Sharif, one of the most populous cities in the north of the country, at a shallow depth of 28 kilometers, reported the USGS (United States Geological Survey, in free translation).
A major search and rescue operation is underway, and a child was seen being pulled from the rubble in the north of the country in a video released by the Ministry of Defense. It was not immediately clear whether the child survived.
The Blue Mosque of Mazar-i-Sharif was damaged by the earthquake, as revealed by images on social media geolocated by CNNwith its base covered in rubble – early evidence of the destruction captured in the pre-dawn shadows.
The site is one of Afghanistan’s architectural treasures and an important pilgrimage site, considered by some to be the resting place of Hazrat Ali, the fourth caliph of Islam and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad.
Health officials put the initial death toll at 12, with about 200 injured, in Samangan province, near the epicenter. The National Disaster Preparedness Authority said the earthquake occurred at around 1 a.m. local time, affecting parts of the north, east and west of the country.
Afghanistan has suffered a series of earthquakes in recent years that have caused thousands of deaths, and USGS models estimate that shaking from this earthquake could result in hundreds of fatalities.
The country’s ability to respond to natural disasters has been further hampered by a shortage of international aid following the Taliban’s seizure of power following the chaotic withdrawal of US-led forces in 2021.
Property damage was also reported in the affected areas, according to Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority, with reports of broken windows and structural damage to homes.
A resident of Mazar-i-Sharif told CNN that her family “woke up terrified” after the earthquake, and that her children ran down the stairs screaming.
“I have never felt such a strong earthquake in my life,” said Rahima, a 50-year-old former teacher, adding that some of her windows had broken and the plaster on some walls had been damaged.
“I’m happy that my house is made of concrete in the city,” she told CNN.
“I don’t know if the mud houses on the outskirts of the city survived this earthquake,” he added.
The earthquake was also felt in regions of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, three countries that border northern Afghanistan, the USGS said.
In August, thousands were injured after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake caused widespread damage across a mountainous swath of provinces in eastern Afghanistan.
The region was hit by at least five aftershocks, the strongest at magnitude 5.2, in the hours following the initial quake, according to the USGS.
In October 2023, another 6.3 magnitude earthquake occurred in western Afghanistan, killing more than 2,000 people.
(With information from Reuters)
