Afghanistan quake kills at least 20, injures 320: officials

A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck northern Afghanistan overnight Sunday–Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring 320, the Taliban-run health ministry said.

A resident stands among the debris and ruins in her doorway following an earthquake, in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, 03 November 2025. A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck near Mazar-e-Sharif, a major city in northern Afghanistan, early on 03 November, killing at least twenty people and injuring hundreds, according to the country's disaster m

Photo: EPA/NAJIB FARYAD

The epicenter was near Mazar-i-Sharif, a city of some 500,000 people. The tremor hit just before 1:00 am local time and was felt hundreds of kilometers away in Kabul, AFP journalists reported.

A correspondent said the 15th-century Blue Mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif, one of Afghanistan’s most prized monuments, was damaged. The defense ministry said it cleared a landslide-blocked road and evacuated people trapped overnight.

Afghanistan lies along the Hindu Kush range at the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, one of the world’s most seismically active zones.

It was the latest strong quake to hit the country. In late August, magnitude-6 tremors in Kunar, Laghman and Nangarhar provinces killed more than 2,200 people and destroyed 7,000 homes, according to local authorities.

(jh)

Source: PAP