Magnitude 6.3 earthquake jolts western Afghanistan; kills at least one

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit western Afghanistan on Saturday causing one death and dozens of injuries, officials said, predicting the toll could rise amid reports of landslides and building collapses.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the epicentre was 40 kilometres northwest of the city of Herat, and was followed by five aftershocks.

Crowds of people poured out into open spaces and fled buildings in the city at around 11am as the quakes struck, causing 25 injuries and a single fatality, according to a Taliban government spokesman.

Media reports quoted National Disaster Management Authority spokesman Mullah Jan Sayeq as saying that the initial toll was “preliminary” and he feared it would rise as “in the rural and mountainous areas there have been landslides as well”.

Hundreds of fatalities were possible, according to a USGS preliminary report.

“Significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread. Past events with this alert level have required a regional or national level response,” it said.

USGS had earlier reported the first quake’s magnitude as 6.2. It had a shallow depth of just 14km, it said.

Herat – 120km east of the border with Iran – is considered the cultural capital of Afghanistan. It is the capital of Herat province which is home to an estimated population of 1.9 million, according to 2019 World Bank data. In June last year, more than 1,000 people were killed and tens of thousands made homeless after a 5.9-magnitude quake – the deadliest in Afghanistan in nearly a quarter of a century – struck the province of Paktika. – News Agencies / Web Desk