Dead and injured in earthquakes in Afghanistan and Pakistan

A strong earthquake rocked parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan on Tuesday night. In Pakistan, a local civil defense authority in the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa spoke of at least nine dead and at least 40 injured. Several injuries were reported from Afghanistan. The full magnitude of the quake was still unclear late in the evening.

The German Research Center for Geosciences in Potsdam named a magnitude of 6.5 on its website and located the quake at a depth of about 180 kilometers. According to the research center, an earthquake of this strength and depth usually does not cause immediate damage.

The earthquake was felt as far north as Kazakhstan. Videos were shared on social networks showing residents of the southern cities of Shymkent and Taras in the Central Asian country running excitedly into the streets.

The Hindu Kush region and neighboring countries, where the Arabian, Indian and Eurasian plates converge, are subject to repeated strong earthquakes. In the summer of 2022, more than 1,000 people died in a devastating earthquake in the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The earthquake brings back memories of the massive earthquakes in Turkey and northern Syria in early February. More than 50,000 people died in Turkey alone. About two million people had to be accommodated in emergency shelters such as tents and containers. About 6,800 people have died in the quakes across Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (sda/dpa)