Earthquake in Afghanistan kills 20 and injures hundreds, Health Ministry says
A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck northern Afghanistan overnight Monday near the city of Mazar-e Sharif, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The full extent of damage and casualties was not immediately known. At least 20 people have been killed and 534 injured, Afghan Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman Amar said in a video statement, citing initial estimates. Mazar-e Sharif, with a population of more than 500,000, is one of the country’s largest cities.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, said on X the earthquake had caused loss of life and property and authorities were providing the necessary assistance.
Afghanistan’s northern provinces were hardest hit. Seven people were killed and more than 400 people were injured in Balkh province, where Mazar-e Sharif is, the country’s national disaster management agency said. Haji Zaid, a regional Taliban spokesman, posted a video of rescuers digging through rubble in the dark earlier Monday. Eleven people were killed and more than 140 injured in neighboring Samangan province, the disaster agency said. Most of those wounded had minor injuries, it said.
The latest quake comes after a devastating 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan in late August, killing at least 1,400 people and injuring more than 3,000.
In the aftermath of that deadly quake, there were concerns that U.S. aid cuts and reluctance of international donors to be seen as supportive of the Taliban-run regime would hinder the disaster response. The Trump administration has cut nearly all U.S.-funded humanitarian and economic projects in Afghanistan, which had accounted for more than 40 % of the country’s foreign assistance.
United Nations officials said Monday they were working with teams on the ground to deliver urgent aid following the latest earthquake.
“We stand with the affected communities and will provide necessary support,” the U.N.’s Afghanistan mission said on X.