11 killed in Afghanistan, Pakistan after 6.5-magnitude earthquake

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After a strong earthquake, registered at a 6.5-magnitude hit Afghanistan and Pakistan, people were left on Tuesday in a mode of panic and fleeing from their homes and onto the streets. 

Tremors and aftershocks were felt in many Pakistani cities and were felt as far away as India's capital of New Delhi.

The earthquake caused damage to buildings and landslides to occur after the US Geological Survey reported that the epicenter was located 40 kilometers southeast of the Afghan town of Jurm.

In Afghanistan’s Laghman province, two people died and eight were left injured, as confirmed by Shafiullah Rahimi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Disaster Management.

According to Pakistan's Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), nine people were killed, including two children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province as some houses collapsed as a result. 44 others were injured.

This incident comes just less than a year after the deadly 6.1-magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan in June 2022 killed more than 1,000 people.

Before then as well, a 5.3 magnitude earthquake rattled a remote western province of Afghanistan and left at least 22 dead in January 2022. 

Earthquakes occur often in Afghanistan, particularly in the Hindu Kush mountain region, which is located at the confluence of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates.