At least 12 people were killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan by a strong earthquake that was felt across thousands of kilometres, but the region appeared on Wednesday to have avoided the mass casualties usually associated with a tremor of this magnitude. The United States Geological Survey said the magnitude‑6.5 quake was centred near Jurm in northeastern Afghanistan, but its depth of 187 km (116 miles) mitigated extensive damage. The quake struck around 09:30 p.m. Kabul time on Tuesday and lasted more than 30 seconds; it was felt from central Asia to New Delhi in India—more than 2,000 km away.
“It was a powerful earthquake and we feared maximum damage due to the intensity—that’s why we issued an alert,” Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s emergency Rescue 1122 service in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told AFP. “But fortunately our fears proved wrong. Residents panicked because of the magnitude, but the damage was minimal.” The region is frequently hit by quakes, especially in the Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.
In Jurm district, near the epicentre, a resident of one village reported no casualties despite the location. “We are about 2,000 to 3,000 people in our village and we all spent the night outside under the sky,” said Inamullah, reached by phone. “We were all scared and stayed awake the entire night.” Panicked residents of cities and towns in Afghanistan and Pakistan also fled their homes to seek safety away from buildings, with many too frightened to return. “We stayed the night in our courtyard… it was cold outside, but we preferred to stay out rather than go back,” 24‑year‑old student Neda Raihan told AFP in Kabul. In Pakistan’s capital, the Khudadad Heights residential block was evacuated after huge cracks appeared in the building.
The quake revived memories of the disaster that struck southeastern Turkey and parts of Syria last month, which killed more than 55,000 people and heightened regional fears. “The children started shouting that there is an earthquake. We all ran out. The horrors of the earthquake in Turkey and neighbouring countries had a strong effect on our nerves,” said Ikhlaq Kazmi, a retired professor in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Officials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, north of the Pakistani capital, said nine people had been killed, including two women and two children. In Afghanistan, officials reported three dead and 44 injured, although phone and internet links to remote parts of the country were severed and communication remained patchy. Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said health centres across the country had been put on high alert. In Kabul, shopkeeper Noor Mohammad Hanifi set up tents in the street for his family to spend the night in. “Nobody dares to go inside their homes,” he told AFP as his family, cloaked in blankets, took shelter.
Many Afghan families were out of their homes celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, when the quake struck. “I heard people screaming and yelling as they came out in the streets,” said Masieh, who was outside with his family. “It’s possible that there could be another tremor, so I’m still waiting outside.” Those indoors also quickly left their houses and apartments. “They just fled without wearing shoes, just carrying their children in their hands,” an AFP correspondent observed.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered the National Disaster Management Authority to be ready to deal with any emergency. Last June, more than 1,000 people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless after a 5.9‑magnitude quake—the deadliest in Afghanistan in nearly a quarter of a century—struck the impoverished province of Paktika. Afghanistan is now in the grips of a humanitarian disaster worsened by the Taliban takeover in August 2021, which caused international development funding to dry up and assets held abroad to be frozen.
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