Death toll from Afghanistan earthquake rises to 1,100

At least 1,100 people have been killed and 3,500 others injured after a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, according to Taliban officials.

The earthquake struck at 11:47 p.m. on Saturday in Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region, near the border with Pakistan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). It was centered about 26 miles (42 kilometers) from Jalālābād at a depth of roughly 6 miles (10 kilometers).

Abdul Jabbar Behir, head of the Afghan Media and Research Center, told Al Arabiya on Monday that the earthquake’s death toll had risen to 1,100, with 3,500 others injured. The provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar, Laghman, and Nuristan were among the worst affected, with reports of entire villages destroyed.

Initial reports from Taliban officials on Sunday put the toll at nine dead and more than 20 injured in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, but the figures have risen sharply as more information emerges from remote areas. Rescue operations remain ongoing.

The USGS estimated between 1,000 and 10,000 deaths were possible from the quake, with more than 1.1 million people exposed to very strong to violent shaking. Tremors were felt across a wide region, including Pakistan and India, with reports from Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, and New Delhi.

Afghanistan has suffered repeated deadly earthquakes in recent years. In 2023, a series of quakes in Herat province killed more than 2,400 people and destroyed thousands of homes, leaving tens of thousands displaced.

Seismic activity in the Himalaya and Hindu Kush region is driven by the collision of the India and Eurasia tectonic plates, making it one of the world’s most seismically hazardous areas. The region has a history of devastating quakes, including the 1935 Quetta earthquake in Pakistan and the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.