At least nine dead after earthquakes in Afghanistan and Pakistan

A severe earthquake shook parts of Pakistan, Afghanistan and India on Tuesday evening. In Pakistan, a local civil protection authority in the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa spoke of at least nine dead and at least 44 injured. Several injuries were reported from Afghanistan. The full extent of the quake was still unclear late in the evening.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Authority, the earthquake in the capital Islamabad had a magnitude of 6.8. The US earthquake monitor located the epicenter in the northern Afghan province of Badakhshan in the town of Jurm and gave the location a magnitude of 6.5.

On its website, the German Research Center for Geosciences in Potsdam called a magnitude of 6.5 and localized the quake at a depth of around 180 kilometers. According to the research center, an earthquake of this strength and depth usually does not cause any immediate damage.

The earthquake was felt as far north as Kazakhstan. Videos were shared on social networks showing local residents in the southern cities of Shymkent and Taras of the Central Asian country running excitedly into the streets.

Heavy earthquakes repeatedly occur in the Hindu Kush region and neighboring countries, where the Arabian, Indian and Eurasian plates meet. In the summer of 2022, more than 1,000 people died in a devastating earthquake in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The earthquake brings back memories of the severe earthquakes in Turkey and northern Syria in early February. More than 50,000 people died in Turkey alone. Around two million people had to be accommodated in emergency shelters such as tents and containers. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, around 6,800 people died in the tremors across Syria.