An official reports that the death toll from the earthquake in Afghanistan has risen to above 1,400

 

According to a government spokeswoman, the number of fatalities from the earthquake in eastern Afghanistan that nearly obliterated multiple towns increased to at least 1,411 on Tuesday.

The spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, said on social media that an additional 3,124 people were hurt in the Sunday 6.0 magnitude earthquake that occurred just before midnight.

"Rescue operations are still underway in all the affected areas today," the deputy spokesperson, Hamdullah Fitrat, stated on Tuesday. "Dozens of commandos have been airlifted to areas where planes could not land to pull out the injured from the rubble and transport them to a suitable location."

According to Shah Mahmood, a Taliban spokesman in Nangarhar Province, almost 8,000 homes were destroyed. Some settlements have not yet been reached by emergency personnel, who are concerned that there might be more people killed and hurt behind the debris, he said.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the epicenter of the strong earthquake was roughly 17 miles east of Jalalabad.

According to a statement released Monday by government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, nearly all of the fatalities occurred in Kunar Province. According to Ministry of Interior spokesperson Mufti Abdul Matin Qani, other people were slain in Nangarhar Province.

Afghanistan has had multiple deadly earthquakes in recent years, including a 6.3 magnitude one in October 2023 and a 5.9 magnitude one in June 2022. In their aftermaths, local officials said that more over 1,000 people had died in each of those earthquakes.

According to the USGS, earthquakes frequently occur in both eastern and western Afghanistan, where the India and Eurasia plates meet beneath the Hindu Kush mountain range.

"Since 1950, 71 other magnitude 6 or larger earthquakes occurred within 250 km of the August 31 earthquake, including six magnitude 7 and larger earthquakes," the USGS stated in a summary of the activity it caught during the earthquake on Sunday and the subsequent aftershocks.

According to the USGS, four weaker but still significant aftershocks continued into Monday after the initial severe earthquake, which occurred at approximately 11:47 p.m. local time on Sunday. According to the organization, those aftershocks had measurements of 5.2, 5.2, 4.7, and 4.6.