At least eight people were killed and one child injured on Friday after a house collapsed in Afghanistan following a powerful earthquake, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The earthquake, measuring 5.9 magnitude, struck Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) reported. The quake occurred at a depth of 177 kilometres, with the Pakistan Meteorological Department’s National Seismic Monitoring Centre (NSMC) recording a depth of 190 kilometres at 9:13pm PST.
Strong tremors from the earthquake were felt across Kabul, Islamabad, and New Delhi, according to witnesses and official reports. In Pakistan, residents in major cities including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Multan, Murree, and Taxila reported feeling the quake. However, no major damage or casualties were reported in the country.
Tremors were also widely felt across Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, with multiple districts reporting shaking, including Sargodha, Chiniot, Mardan, Abbottabad, Skardu, and Muzaffarabad.
Authorities in Afghanistan confirmed that the house collapse, triggered by the quake, resulted in multiple casualties. Afghanistan’s rugged terrain and seismic activity make it highly vulnerable to earthquakes, which claim hundreds of lives annually.
This latest quake comes weeks after another 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan, causing minor damage and one injury. In November last year, a stronger 6.3-magnitude earthquake killed at least 27 people and destroyed several hundred homes.
Officials continue to monitor the situation as aftershocks remain possible in the region.