Death Toll From Quake In Kunar, Nangarhar Rises To 622: Qane

KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 622 people have been killed, 1,555 others injured and a large number of houses destroyed following an earthquake in the eastern provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said on Monday.

The earthquake struck around midnight and registered a magnitude of 6.0 on the Richter scale, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Mufti Abdul Mateen Qane, spokesman for the MoI, told Pajhwok Afghan News that, based on the latest figures, 610 people were killed and 1,300 others injured in Kunar, where dozens of houses were also destroyed.

He added that in Nangarhar province, 12 people had been killed, 255 injured and dozens of houses damaged.

Qane said Interior Minister Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani had instructed provincial governors, police chiefs and security and service forces to immediately reach the affected areas and assist victims of the disaster.

The state-run Bakhtar News Agency reported that in Nurgal district, the villages of Wodir, Shomash, Masud and Areet were completely destroyed.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Public Health spokesman Dr Sharafat Zaman said initial reports indicated that more than 330 people had been injured in Laghman and Nangarhar alone - nearly 80 in Laghman and 250 in Nangarhar.

He noted that the death toll in these provinces had not yet been confirmed.

According to him, last night's earthquake completely flattened three villages in Kunar's Nurgal district, while the villages of Sholat, Areet, Mamagul, Wodir and others were severely damaged.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), said all available resources would be mobilised for rescue operations.

It is worth recalling that in October 2024, an earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale also caused heavy casualties and widespread destruction in Herat.

At that time, the State Ministry for Disaster Management reported that more than 2,000 people had been killed or injured, with most of the devastation occurring in the Zindajan and Ghurian districts of Herat.

According to the ministry, 1,320 houses were also destroyed in that earthquake.

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