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September 1, 2025 — 1.35pm
Hundreds are feared dead following a 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan, in a mountainous area close to the border with Pakistan, local officials said on Monday.
The quake at around midnight local time was centred 27 kilometres east-northeast of the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, the US Geological Survey said.
It was just 8 kilometres deep. Shallower quakes tend to cause more damage.
Cricket fans in Jalalabad watch a broadcast of the T20 World Cup semi-final between Afghanistan and South Africa in June last year. The city is home to about 200,000 people.Credit: AP
Information on the scale of damage was not immediately available.
A government spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, posted on X that the earthquake had “caused loss of life and property damage in some of our eastern provinces”.
The US Geological Survey said its models predicted “significant casualties” and potential widespread damage.
Naqibullah Rahimi, a spokesman for the Nangarhar Public Health Department, said 15 people had been taken to the hospital for treatment.
A 4.5 magnitude quake occurred some 20 minutes later in the same province.
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Afghanistan on October 7, 2023, followed by strong aftershocks. The Taliban government estimated that at least 4000 people perished.
The United Nations gave a far lower death toll of about 1500. It was the deadliest natural disaster to strike Afghanistan in recent memory.
More to come
Reuters, AP
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