Nine killed, 15 injured as 6.0 magnitude earthquake strikes eastern Afghanistan

At least nine people were killed and 15 others injured after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border late on August 31.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the quake’s epicentre was near Jalalabad in Nangarhar province at a depth of 8 kilometres. It struck at 11:47 pm local time on Sunday. However, the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) reported the epicentre at latitude 34.50N and longitude 70.81E, with a depth of 160 km.

Naqibullah Rahimi, spokesperson for the Nangarhar Public Health Department, confirmed that 15 injured people were taken to a local hospital for treatment.

The tremors were felt across Pakistan and northern India, including Delhi-NCR, where residents reported strong shaking that forced people to rush outdoors.

The initial quake was followed by multiple aftershocks, measuring 4.7, 4.3, 5.0 and 5.0 on the Richter scale.

Experts said these tremors fall under the shallow to intermediate category. Such quakes are considered more dangerous than deep ones, as seismic waves travel a shorter distance to the surface, causing stronger ground shaking, greater damage to structures, and higher risk of casualties.

Shallow and intermediate earthquakes are generally more dangerous than deep earthquakes. This is because the seismic waves from shallow earthquakes have a shorter distance to travel to the surface, resulting in stronger ground shaking and potentially more damage to structures, as well as greater casualties.

Afghanistan has a history of powerful earthquakes, and the Hindu Kush Mountain range is a geologically active area where quakes occur every year, according to the Red Cross.

Afghanistan sits on numerous fault lines between the Indian and the Eurasian tectonic plates, with a fault line also running directly through Herat.