Kabul: At least 610 people have been killed and more than 1,500 injured after a powerful earthquake struck Afghanistan’s eastern provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar just before midnight on Monday.
According to the US Geological Survey, the magnitude 6 quake hit at a shallow depth of 8 km (5 miles) near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Tremors were felt across Pakistan and as far away as India.
Most of the homes in the worst-hit villages were made of mud and wood, collapsing instantly under the impact. Entire settlements have reportedly been flattened. Rescue efforts remain hampered by damaged roads and the mountainous terrain.
“The roads are not paved. Mostly, they are covered with rocks because of the earthquake, and it’s very difficult to go there right now,” Al Jazeera’s Mohsin Momand reported from Kabul.
Interior Ministry spokesman Mufti Abdul Mateen confirmed at least 610 deaths in Kunar and 12 in Nangarhar. Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman said rescue operations are still underway, with several villages completely destroyed.
The Defence Ministry has dispatched 30 doctors and 800 kilograms (1,764 pounds) of medicine to Kunar to support local hospitals overwhelmed with casualties. Helicopters have also been deployed to evacuate the injured.
Experts warn that the region’s mountainous terrain makes it particularly vulnerable to landslides. “It’s not only the buildings that will shake and become unstable, but the hillsides will also shake and become unstable, and that’s what triggers landslides,” said Chris Elders, professor of petroleum geology at Curtin University.
Aftershocks remain a major concern, deepening fear among residents. “When a large earthquake has taken place, people are very unsettled… and repeated aftershocks just reinforce that,” Elders noted.
