A massive rescue operation was underway in Afghanistan on Monday, September 1, after a strong earthquake and multiple aftershocks flattened buildings, killing more than 600 people, according to the interior ministry.
The earthquake hit shortly before midnight, shaking buildings from Kabul all the way to Islamabad, the capital of neighbouring Pakistan.
Near the epicenter in the east of the country, “610 people were killed and 1,300 were injured in Kunar province, with numerous houses destroyed”, said spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani, adding that in neighbouring Nangarhar province 12 people were killed and another 255 injured.
The Taliban authorities and the United Nations mobilised rescue efforts to hard-hit areas in the impoverished nation.
“The UN in Afghanistan is deeply saddened by the devastating earthquake that struck the eastern region & claimed hundreds of lives,” the UN said on X, adding that teams were on the ground “delivering emergency assistance & lifesaving support”.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake’s epicenter was 27 kilometres from Jalalabad in Nangarhar province and occurred at a relatively shallow depth of eight kilometres.
Shallow quakes tend to cause more damage than deep tremors.
Afghanistan is frequently hit by earthquakes, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountains near the intersection of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
