By Peter Omopo
At least 20 people have been confirmed dead and more than 500 injured following a powerful earthquake that struck northern Afghanistan late Sunday, Afghan authorities said on Monday.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the 6.3-magnitude quake occurred at a depth of 28 kilometres (17 miles), with its epicentre near Mazar-i-Sharif, one of Afghanistan’s largest northern cities.
Spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Health, Sharafat Zaman, said rescue teams were mobilised in Samangan and Balkh provinces, where most of the casualties were recorded.
“Based on the information we have so far, 534 people have been injured and more than 20 fatalities have been taken to hospitals in Samangan and Balkh provinces,” Zaman said.
Widespread Panic and Damage
Witnesses in Mazar-i-Sharif described scenes of panic as residents rushed out of their homes into the streets during the tremor. An AFP correspondent reported that several structures, including the 15th-century Blue Mosque, suffered visible damage.
Portions of one of the mosque’s minarets collapsed, scattering debris across its courtyard — a blow to one of Afghanistan’s most iconic landmarks and a rare tourist attraction.
Residents in Kabul, approximately 420 kilometres to the south, also reported feeling tremors.
Rescue Efforts Underway
The Taliban’s Defence Ministry said it had cleared and reopened the main highway linking Mazar-i-Sharif to the town of Kholm, rescuing people who had been trapped overnight.
“Numerous homes have been destroyed, and significant material losses have been incurred,” Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, wrote on X (formerly Twitter), though he did not provide specific figures.
Poor communication networks and limited infrastructure have slowed emergency response operations, with authorities still assessing the full extent of the destruction.
A String of Deadly Quakes
The disaster marks the fourth major earthquake to hit Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in 2021, compounding the country’s already dire humanitarian situation.
In August 2025, a 6.0-magnitude earthquake in eastern Afghanistan flattened entire villages, killing more than 2,200 people and causing an estimated $183 million in damages, according to the World Bank.
Previous major quakes — in Herat (2023) and Nangarhar (2022) — also claimed hundreds of lives and destroyed thousands of homes.
Vulnerability and Humanitarian Crisis
Earthquakes are frequent in Afghanistan, particularly along the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates collide.
Experts say decades of conflict, poverty, and inadequate infrastructure have made Afghan communities especially vulnerable to natural disasters. Many homes in rural areas are poorly constructed, increasing the risk of collapse during quakes.
The country continues to grapple with overlapping crises — including drought, economic sanctions, and the forced return of refugees from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan.
International aid agencies have warned that hunger and displacement are on the rise, urging global partners to scale up humanitarian assistance as Afghanistan faces yet another devastating tragedy.
