A strong earthquake killed at least nine people in northern Afghanistan, authorities said on Monday (Nov 3), just months after another deadly tremor left the country reeling.
The 6.3-magnitude quake struck overnight at a depth of 28km with the epicentre near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, according to the US Geological Survey.
Four people were killed in Balkh province, where Mazar-i-Sharif is the capital, according to Kamal Khan Zadran, a health department spokesman.
He said the provincial hospital was also treating 120 people for injuries.
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) spokesman Mohammadullah Hamad said that five people had been killed and 143 wounded in neighbouring Samangan province.
“Most of the injured have returned home after receiving treatment,” he said in a statement.
Poor communication networks and infrastructure in mountainous Afghanistan have hampered disaster responses in the past, preventing authorities for hours or even days from reaching far-flung villages to assess the extent of the damage.
The quake sent residents of Mazar-i-Sharif, one of Afghanistan’s largest northern cities, running into the streets due to fears their homes would collapse, an AFP correspondent observed.
Correspondents in the capital Kabul, around 420km to the south, also said they felt shaking.
Source: CNA
