Earthquake Hit Afghanistan and Pakistan, Killing 11 People

An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 hit Afghanistan, Pakistan, and part of India on Tuesday, killing at least 11 people and forcing many people to flee their homes and workspaces.

More than 100 people were injured and taken to hospitals in Swat Valley, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. 

Spokesperson of Pakistani emergency services Bilal Faizi said "These terrified people collapsed, and some of them collapsed because of the shock of the earthquake."

Most of the people brought to hospitals were later discharged, but there were 9 people killed when roofs collapsed in north-western Pakistan. Many other people were injured in the earthquake and the quake was also felt in Islamabad, Lahore, and Rawalpindi. 

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed that he had ordered disaster management teams to be vigilant.

The earthquake had its epicentre in Jurm, Afghanistan, and it was also felt in bordering Tajikistan.

Two people, including a child, were killed in the eastern province of Laghman, Afghanistan, according to the country's Ministry of Natural Disaster Management. Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid assured that hospitals across the country had been put on high alert because the earthquake was also felt in Kabul and other parts of the country. 

Twenty other people were injured, according to Sharafat Zaman Amar, the Taliban spokesman for the Public Health Ministry.

"Unfortunately, there could be more casualties as the quake was so powerful in most parts of the country," said the spokesperson. 

According to the US Geological Survey agency, the earthquake struck at the depth of 187 km, which triggered landslides in some areas and halted traffic. 

Afghanistan was hit by an earthquake of magnitude 6.1 in 2022. The earthquake hit a mountainous region, destructing stone and mudbrick homes. The Taliban put the total death toll from the earthquake at 1,150 and many people were injured, while the United Nations (UN) suggested an estimate of 770.