Powerful earthquake rocks eastern Afghanistan, at least 10 killed

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

Toll likely to rise, with significant damage reported across mountainous region in eastern Afghanistan, sources say.

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake has struck eastern Afghanistan, with early reports indicating that at least 10 people were killed and 20 others injured, according to sources.

The tremor shook the Kunar and Nangahar province at about midnight local time on Monday, local sources told Al Jazeera, with significant damage reported across several districts in the mountainous regions.

The sources said the toll was preliminary and that figures are likely to rise as assessments continue.

The United States Geological Survey said the 6.0 magnitude quake was centred 27 kilometres (17 miles) east of the city of Jalalabad in the Nangahar province.

A 4.5 magnitude tremor occurred a short while later near Basawul in Nangahar.

Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from neighbouring Pakistan, said the devastation from the earthquake was likely to be high as the tremor struck at a shallow depth.

“Kunar is a mountainous territory bordering Pakistan, and this area is prone to earthquakes. Kunar is situated right next to Badakshan, which is a seismic zone, and there are frequent earthquakes there that also shake Pakistan,” he said.

“Normally, these earthquakes are quite deep and, therefore, do not cause much damage. But this particular earthquake was of magnitude 6.0 and was at a shallow depth, between 8 to 10 kilometres [5-6.2 miles]. This means it would have a more devastating effect, given that most of the construction in the Kunar area is poor. It’s normally mud houses, or built by rock,” he added.

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