Highlights
- The Afghanistan earthquake killed at least 20 people and injured more than 530
- At 01:00 on Monday, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit near Mazar-e-Sharif city
- After damage to the electricity lines, power was off all over the country, including the capital city of Kabul
- The historic Blue Mosque was damaged and debris was scattered on the ground
Breaking news from Afghanistan, an earthquake in Afghanistan killed at least 20 people early Monday morning, and around 530 more were injured. The quake struck near Mazar-e-Sharif, one of the country’s largest cities with approximately 500,000 residents. It occurred at approximately 01:00 local time, which was 8:30 p.m. GMT on Sunday, when most people were asleep in their homes. Local authorities claim that the death toll will be higher as rescue operations are ongoing.
The US Geological Survey recorded the earthquake as a 6.3 magnitude with a depth of 28 kilometres. They set the orange alert level for the event, which means “significant casualties” are expected. The latest news from the Taliban government’s health ministry is that more than 530 people have been injured
Entire Country Loses Electricity After Quake
As the earthquake hit, a large number of people in Mazar-e-Sharif went out of their houses and took refuge in the open air because they were scared that their homes might collapse, the AFP news agency informed. The latest news from the area where this incident happened tells that the very shaking resulted in a blackout that affected the whole country, extending to the capital city Kabul, as well.
A Taliban spokesman in Balkh took social media by storm with the video where he was standing at the Blue Mosque and showing the rubble just lying around the place after what seemed to be the same. The mosque dates back to the 15th Century and is very significant for the Shia Muslims. It is assumed that it keeps the ashes of the first Shia Imam who was also the son-in-law as well as cousin of Prophet Mohammad.
Country Struggles With Frequent Deadly Earthquakes
Recent updates show the current tremor is the one after the 6.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Afghanistan’s mountainous eastern region late last August and took more than 1,100 lives. The area was severely impacted since the houses were mostly made of mud and timber thus of low structural strength.
The poor communication network and weak infrastructure have always been the major obstacles for the rescue teams in their effort to save people after disasters like this. Buildings in Afghanistan are not equipped with features for resisting the impacts of the earthquake which in turn results in these structures almost collapsing each time the ground moves. The country is lacking sufficient resources and technology to construct buildings that are capable of withstanding earthquakes, let alone powerful ones. Thus it makes the situation worse that even not-so-strong earthquakes turn out to be fatal in the cities and villages of Afghanistan people living there may lose their lives without enough knowledge about this terrible natural phenomenon. This earthquake in Afghanistan shows how vulnerable the country is.
FAQs
Q: Where was the earthquake in Afghanistan?
A: The epicentre was close to Mazar-e-Sharif, which is the northern part of the country, and a city with a population of about 500,000 people.
Q: How many people lost their lives because of the earthquake?
A: Most reports say that the death toll is at least 20. Besides that, there are more than 530 individuals who got hurt. The officials foresee that the number of fatalities will increase since the rescue teams are still hard at work searching for people.
Q: How did the whole nation end up without electrical power?
A: Due to the quake, the electricity lines that supply power to the country from the neighbouring countries, i.e., Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, were damaged.
Q: Why are there so many earthquakes in Afghanistan?
A: Geologically speaking, Afghanistan is situated in the area where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet and thus, it is abundant in seismic activities.
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