7 Killed, 150 Injured As 6.3-Magnitude Earthquake Jolts Afghanistan
An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 hit northern Afghanistan in the early hours of Monday, killing at least seven people and leaving about 150 others injured.
“A total of 150 people injured and seven martyred have been reported and transferred to health centres as of this morning,” Samim Joyanda, the spokesperson for the health department in Samangan, a mountainous northern province near Mazar-e Sharif told.
According to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS), the earthquake took place at a depth of 23 kilometres.
In a post on X. the NCS wrote, “EQ of M: 6.3, On: 03/11/2025 01:59:02 IST, Lat: 36.51 N, Long: 67.50 E, Depth: 23 Km, Location: Afghanistan.(sic)”
Preliminary reports indicate that the quake struck in the vicinity of Mazar-i-Sharif and the nearby town of Khulm in the early hours of Monday. Mazar-i-Sharif, the bustling capital of Balkh province, remains one of the major urban centres in northern Afghanistan.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) models suggest that the impact of the shaking could lead to several hundred deaths.
“Several provinces of the country were once again shaken by a strong earthquake at around 1 am (3:30 p.m. ET Sunday),” the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority said in a statement shared with CNN.
According to news outlet, tremors were also felt across parts of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, all bordering northern Afghanistan.
A resident of Mazar-i-Sharif told that her family “woke up terrified” when the quake struck, with her children running “down the stairs screaming.”
Rahima, a former schoolteacher, told the network she had “never experienced such a strong earthquake” before, adding that several windows were shattered and the plaster on her walls was damaged.
As per the report, the USGS PAGER system issued an orange alert, indicating potentially severe consequences. The alert noted, “Significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread. Past events with this alert level have required a regional or national level response.”
Earlier on Sunday night, a separate 3.9-magnitude tremor was detected at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres. In a post on X, the NCS said, “EQ of M: 3.9, On: 02/11/2025 20:40:52 IST, Lat: 36.50 N, Long: 71.08 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Afghanistan.”
Since shallow earthquakes release energy closer to the Earth’s surface, they typically produce stronger shaking and pose a greater threat to lives and infrastructure.
