The 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck in a region close to the border of western Pakistan, where tremors were also felt.
According to the Afghan state-run Bakhtar News Agency, an earthquake has killed at least 1,000 people and injured over 1,500 more. That figure, however, is expected to rise as more information from rural mountain communities affected by the natural disaster becomes available.
According to the US Geological Survey, the 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck in the early hours of June 21, just before 1:30 a.m. local time (8:54 p.m. UTC) (USGS).
Its epicenter was 46 kilometers (28 miles) southwest of the Afghan city of Khst, at a depth of 10 kilometers (over 6 miles).
It struck near the western Pakistani border, where tremors were also felt. According to preliminary USGS data, moderate shaking was reported in Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad, but the level of damage is expected to be minor.
Because it sits on an active fault line between the Eurasia plate and the India Plate, this mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan is no stranger to earthquakes. According to the USGS, tectonic activity can occur because the India plate is slowly moving northward by a few inches each year, colliding with the Eurasia plate.
This week’s earthquake follows a deadly magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck western Pakistan in October 2008, killing 166 people and destroying several villages as a result of triggered landslides.
The USGS believes that the risk of landslides in Afghanistan as a result of the recent earthquake is low, but more information is needed.
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