A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck near one of northern Afghanistan’s largest cities, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Preliminary reports said the quake struck early Monday local time at a depth of 28 kilometers (17.4 miles) near Mazar-e-Sharif city and Qurum town. Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province, is one of the most populous cities in northern Afghanistan.
USGS models estimate that the quake could cause hundreds of deaths.
“Several provinces in the country were again shaken by a strong earthquake at around 1 a.m. (3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday),” Afghanistan’s National Disaster Management Authority said in a statement shared with CNN.
The USGS reported that the quake was also felt in three countries that border northern Afghanistan: Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.
The extent of damage caused by the earthquake is not yet clear.
The orange alert was issued by the USGS PAGER system, which predicts economic and human losses after an earthquake.
“Significant casualties are likely and the disaster could be widespread. Previous events that reached this alert level required regional or national responses,” the report said.
One Mazar-e-Sharif resident told CNN that his family “awoke in fear” after the quake, adding that his children “ran down the stairs screaming” when the quake struck.
“I have never experienced such a strong earthquake in my life,” said Rahima, a former school teacher, adding that some windows were broken and some plaster on the walls was also damaged.
“I’m happy that my house in the city is made of concrete,” she told CNN. “We don’t know if the mud houses on the outskirts of the city could withstand this earthquake.”
Back in August, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake caused widespread damage along eastern Afghanistan’s mountainous provinces, killing at least 800 people and injuring more than 2,800.
The area was hit by at least five aftershocks, the largest of which registered a magnitude 5.2 several hours after the first quake, according to the USGS.
In October 2023, another magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck western Afghanistan, killing more than 2,000 people.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
