More than 1,300 people were left injured after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit a number of towns in the province of Kunar in Afghanistan, near the city of Jalalabad in neighbouring Nangahar province
This is the devastating moment an earthquake in Afghanistan shakes buildings and destroys villages, with more than 600 people feared dead.
A spokesperson for the Taliban government on Monday estimated 610 people had been killed, and 1,300 people left injured after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit a number of towns in the province of Kunar, near the city of Jalalabad in neighbouring Nangahar province.
The earthquake was recorded at 11.47pm local time and was just 17 miles of the city of Jalalabad, according to the US Geological Survey. It was just 8 miles deep, with shallower earthquakes often causing more damage.
Dramatic footage from Nangarhar showed locals desperately trying to dig through the rubble with their hands, searching for loved ones in the middle of the night.
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Injured people were being stretched out of collapsed buildings and into helicopters for urgent treatment.
Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Matin Qani confirmed the late-night quake killed 610 people and injured 1,300 in Kunar. Many houses were left in ruins.
In Nangarhar, a dozen people died and hundreds were injured, he said. Rescue operations are underway and medical teams from Kunar, Nangarhar and the capital Kabul have arrived in the area, said Sharafat Zaman, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health.
The Taliban government’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said “all available resources will be utilised to save lives”.
Nearby Jalalabad is a bustling trade city due to its proximity with neighbouring Pakistan and a key border crossing between the countries.
Although the municipality reports a population of about 300,000, the metropolitan area is thought to be far larger. Most of its buildings are low-rise constructions, mostly concrete and brick, and its outlying areas include homes built of mud bricks and wood. Many are of poor construction.
Jalalabad also has considerable agriculture and farming, including citrus fruit and rice, with the Kabul River flowing through the city.
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Afghanistan on October 7, 2023, followed by strong aftershocks. The Taliban government estimated at least 4,000 people perished in that quake. The U.N. gave a far lower death toll of about 1,500. It was the deadliest natural disaster to strike Afghanistan in recent memory.