At least 20 people were killed and more than 300 were injured after a strong earthquake struck northern Afghanistan overnight, authorities said on Monday, marking yet another deadly natural disaster for the country in recent years.
According to the United States Geological Survey, the 6.3-magnitude quake struck at a depth of 28 kilometres, with its epicentre located around 22 kilometres west-southwest of Khulm, near the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
Sharafat Zaman, spokesman for Afghanistan’s Health Ministry, confirmed on Monday morning that 20 people had been killed and around 320 injured in the provinces of Balkh and Samangan.
He added that the figures were preliminary and that further assessments were underway to determine the full extent of the damage.
Residents in Mazar-i-Sharif, one of Afghanistan’s largest cities, rushed out of their homes in panic as buildings shook during the tremor, eyewitnesses said.
Among the damaged structures was the city’s historic Blue Mosque, a 15th-century landmark famous for its intricate blue tiles. Parts of one of its minarets collapsed, leaving debris scattered across the mosque’s courtyard.
Tremors were also felt in Kabul, about 420 kilometres to the south, with residents in the capital describing the quake as strong but brief.
Rescue and relief operations have been slow to begin due to poor communication networks and limited infrastructure across Afghanistan’s mountainous terrain. In previous disasters, it has taken authorities hours or even days to reach remote villages cut off by damaged roads and difficult terrain.
The earthquake adds to a string of devastating natural disasters that have struck Afghanistan since the Taliban took control in 2021. In August, a 6.0-magnitude quake in the east of the country killed more than 2,200 people and levelled several mountain villages.
Earlier tremors in Herat in 2023 and Nangarhar in 2022 also killed hundreds and destroyed thousands of homes.
This is the second major earthquake to hit Afghanistan in recent months. In August, a 6.0 magnitude quake killed at least 2,200 people, according to the Taliban administration.
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Initial estimates at the time placed the death toll at around 1,400 with more than 3,000 injured, but the figures were revised as rescue operations progressed.
Afghanistan is prone to frequent earthquakes due to its position on multiple fault lines where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.
Many quakes are shallow, releasing high energy close to the surface, which causes extensive damage and loss of life, particularly in densely populated or poorly built areas.
Monday’s earthquake has once again exposed the country’s vulnerability to natural disasters, as emergency services—already strained by limited resources work against time to locate survivors and provide medical assistance to the injured.
Authorities fear the death toll could climb further as more reports emerge from remote areas near the epicentre, where communication remains disrupted. The Taliban government has yet to issue a formal statement on the extent of the damage or potential international assistance.
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