Earthquake shakes Afghanistan, Pakistan and India: dead and injured

In Afghanistan and Pakistan have killed at least 12 people as a result of a powerful earthquake. According to the USGS, the epicenter of the magnitude 6.5 earthquake was near the town of Jurm in northeastern Afghanistan at a depth of 187 kilometers. According to this, the earthquake lasted at least 30 seconds and was felt as far as New Delhi, India, about 2000 kilometers from the epicenter.

In the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa north of Islamabad, according to official figures, nine people were killed in the earthquake, including two children. According to the Pakistani rescue service, the damage was less than initially expected given the magnitude of the quake. USGS cited the comparatively large distance of the epicenter to the surface of the earth as the reason for this.

According to official reports, three people were killed and 44 injured in Afghanistan. Telephone and Internet lines were severed, disrupting communications in some parts of the country.

More than a thousand dead in 2022 earthquake

There were also isolated reports of damage. Images of collapsed houses were shared on Twitter; the recordings are said to be from Afghanistan and Pakistan come.

The earthquake was still felt more than a thousand kilometers away: residents of the Indian capital New Delhi ran into the streets in fear of collapsing buildings, The Times of India reports. There were similar reports from Islamabad and Lahore. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Authority, the earthquake in the Pakistani capital had a magnitude of 6.8. And even in Kazakhstan, which is much further north, the earthquake could still be felt. It was reported from Shymkent and Taras that residents had fled their homes. Videos were shared on social networks showing how residents of the cities ran excitedly onto the streets.

More than a thousand people were killed in a magnitude 5.9 earthquake in Afghanistan last June. It was the deadliest earthquake in the country for almost a quarter of a century. Tens of thousands of people were also made homeless. Earthquakes are very common in Afghanistan, particularly in the Hindu Kush where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates collide. Since many houses in the poor country are badly built, the tremors often cause serious damage.

The quake also brings back memories of the severe ones 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.