Kabul, Sept 1, KDC: A powerful magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan on Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 100 others, officials told the BBC. The tremor, recorded at a shallow depth of just 8 km (6 miles), caused widespread damage across remote mountainous regions.
Multiple Taliban government sources said dozens of houses collapsed and many people are feared trapped under rubble. The death toll is expected to rise as rescue operations continue.
Authorities have appealed to humanitarian organisations for urgent assistance, citing landslides and flooding that have blocked ground access to several affected areas, leaving airlifts as the only option for relief delivery.
The quake shook buildings as far away as Kabul and Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, over 300 km (186 miles) from the epicentre, sending people rushing out of their homes.
The Taliban government said emergency teams are on the ground, but warned that difficult terrain and poor infrastructure could slow the rescue effort.
